Targeting the Regulators of Genes to Treat Disease

While most drug developers have sought to target aberrant genes or the proteins driving diseases, Syros Pharmaceuticals has developed a proprietary platform that targets the regulatory region of DNA to not only turn genes on or off but modulate their activity as well. The company is initially focusing on cancer and monogenic diseases. We spoke to Nancy Simonian, CEO of Syros, about the company’s platform technology, the opportunities in targeting regulators of genes, and why this could represent a broad new approach to treating diseases.