Innovation in preleukemia

High-risk MDS, often referred to as preleukemia, is a chronic form of blood cancer with a significant level of unmet medical need.

MDS is a complicated disease, presenting several obstacles to drug developers, and no new therapies have been approved for the condition in over a decade. 

But that may be about to change, with multiple drugmakers, including some large pharmaceutical companies, including Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502), Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD0, AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Novartis (NOVN: VX) making significant progress.

In the last few years, at least half a dozen Phase II or Phase III trials have been initiated globally, with a variety of approaches under investigation.

Three such trials have started this year alone, including a pivotal study of Syros Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: SYRS) candidate tamibarotene - an oral RARa agonist which could become the first in a new class of treatment option.

In this episode we discuss the treatment landscape in preleukemia, as well as the company’s plans for tamibarotene, with Syros chief executive Nancy Simonian and chief medical officer David Roth.