Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SYRS), a leader in the development of medicines that control the expression of genes, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2018 and provided an update on recent accomplishments and upcoming events.
“Our accomplishments in 2018 position us for multiple potential clinical milestones in 2019 and 2020 that bring us closer to our vision of building a fully integrated company with medicines that provide a profound benefit for patients,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros. “Building on promising clinical data for both our lead programs, we plan to expand our ongoing Phase 2 trial of SY-1425 in combination with azacitidine with the addition of a cohort in RARA and IRF8 biomarker-positive relapsed or refractory AML patients. We have also added a cohort of recurrent ovarian clear cell cancer patients to our ongoing Phase 1 trial of SY-1365. The unmet need in both these patient populations is significant, and we believe these cohorts could lead to rapid clinical proof-of-concept. These new cohorts, when combined with our ongoing evaluation of SY-1365 as a single agent in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, give us three potential fast-to-market opportunities for our lead programs. We are focused on executing on our clinical trials with the aim of delivering much-needed therapies to patients as quickly as possible.”
Upcoming Milestones:
SY-1425
SY-1365
SY-5609
Recent Pipeline Highlights:
Recent Corporate Highlights:
Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2018 were $99.7 million, compared with $72.0 million on December 31, 2017.
For the fourth quarter of 2018, Syros reported a net loss of $18.0 million, or $0.54 per share, compared to a net loss of $15.3 million, or $0.58 per share, for the same period in 2017.
Full Year 2018 Financial Results
For the full year ended December 31, 2018, Syros reported a net loss of $62.3 million, or $1.91 per share, compared to a net loss of $54.0 million, or $2.13 per share, for the same period in 2017.
Financial Guidance
Based on its current plans, Syros believes that its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund its planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second quarter of 2020.
Conference Call and Webcast:
Syros will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss these fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results and provide a corporate update.
The live call may be accessed by dialing (866) 595-4538 for domestic callers or (636) 812-6496 for international callers and referencing conference ID number: 7258556. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online on the Investors & Media section of the Syros website at www.syros.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for approximately 90 days.
About Syros Pharmaceuticals
Syros is pioneering the
understanding of the non-coding regulatory region of the genome to
advance a new wave of medicines that control the expression of genes.
Syros has built a proprietary platform that is designed to
systematically and efficiently analyze this unexploited region of DNA to
identify and drug novel targets linked to genomically defined patient
populations. Because gene expression is fundamental to the function of
all cells, Syros’ gene control platform has broad potential to create
medicines that achieve profound and durable benefit across a range of
diseases. Syros is currently focused on cancer and monogenic diseases
and is advancing a growing pipeline of gene control medicines. Syros’
lead drug candidates are SY-1425, a selective RARα agonist in a Phase 2
clinical trial for genomically defined subsets of patients with acute
myeloid leukemia, and SY-1365, a selective CDK7 inhibitor in a Phase 1
clinical trial focused on patients with ovarian and breast cancers.
Syros is also developing a deep preclinical and discovery pipeline,
including SY-5609, an oral CDK7 inhibitor, as well as programs in
immuno-oncology and sickle cell disease. Led by a team with deep
experience in drug discovery, development and commercialization, Syros
is located in Cambridge, Mass.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without
limitation statements regarding the Company’s ability to advance its
clinical-stage programs, including the of the timing and quantity of
clinical data to be reported from the combination cohorts of the ongoing
Phase 2 clinical trial of SY-1425 and the expansion phase of the ongoing
Phase 1 clinical trial of SY-1365, as well as the opening of new cohorts
in each of these trials; the ability to complete enrollment in the
cohort of the ongoing clinical Phase 2 clinical trial of SY-1425 in
biomarker-positive newly diagnosed unfit AML patients; the ability to
achieve rapid clinical proof of concept and take advantage of
fast-to-market opportunities for SY-1425 and SY-1365; the predictive
value of the Company’s RARA and IRF8 biomarkers; the
ability to complete IND-enabling preclinical studies and begin clinical
development of SY-5609; the Company’s ability to fund its planned
operations to the second quarter of 2020; and the benefits of Syros’
gene control platform and product development pipeline. The words
‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’
‘‘expect,’’ “hope,” ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘potential,’’
‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘target,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘would,’’ and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying
words. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans,
intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including Syros’
ability to: advance the development of its programs, including SY-1425
and SY-1365, under the timelines it projects in current and future
clinical trials; demonstrate in any current and future clinical trials
the requisite safety, efficacy and combinability of its drug candidates;
successfully progress SY-5609 through IND-enabling preclinical and
toxicology studies; replicate scientific and non-clinical data in
clinical trials; successfully develop a companion diagnostic test to
identify patients with the RARA and IRF8 biomarkers;
obtain and maintain patent protection for its drug candidates and the
freedom to operate under third party intellectual property; obtain and
maintain necessary regulatory approvals; identify, enter into and
maintain collaboration agreements with third parties, including its
ability to perform under the collaboration agreement with Incyte; manage
competition; manage expenses; raise the substantial additional capital
needed to achieve its business objectives; attract and retain qualified
personnel; and successfully execute on its business strategies; risks
described under the caption “Risk Factors” in Syros’ Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which is on file with
the Securities and Exchange Commission; and risks described in other
filings that Syros makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission in
the future. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press
release speak only as of the date hereof, and Syros expressly disclaims
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether because
of new information, future events or otherwise.
Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(in thousands) |
|||||||||
December 31, 2018 |
December 31, 2017 | ||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities | $ | 99,679 | $ | 72,049 | |||||
Working capital (1) | 82,205 | 60,746 | |||||||
Total assets | 106,766 | 78,488 | |||||||
Total stockholders’ equity | 78,586 | 65,324 | |||||||
(1) | The Company defines working capital as current assets less current liabilities. See the Company’s consolidated financial statements for further details regarding its current assets and current liabilities. | |
Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
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Three Months Ended | Year Ended | ||||||||||||||||
December 30, | December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
2018 | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||||||||||||
Revenue | $ | 893 | $ | — | $ | 2,050 | $ | 1,101 | |||||||||
Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
Research and development | 15,128 | 11,780 | 50,182 | 41,896 | |||||||||||||
General and administrative | 4,372 | 3,740 | 16,164 | 13,891 | |||||||||||||
Total operating expenses | 19,500 | 15,520 | 66,346 | 55,787 | |||||||||||||
Loss from operations | (18,607) | (15,520) | (64,296) | (54,686) | |||||||||||||
Other income, net | 575 | 218 | 2,017 | 676 | |||||||||||||
Net loss | $ | (18,032) | $ | (15,302) | $ | (62,279) | $ | (54,010) | |||||||||
Net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.54) | $ | (0.58 | ) | $ | (1.91) | $ | (2.13) | ||||||||
Weighted-average number of common shares used in net loss per share - basic and diluted | 33,694,756 | 26,316,550 | 32,656,237 | 25,406,845 | |||||||||||||
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190307005187/en/
Media Contact:
Naomi Aoki
Syros Pharmaceuticals
617-283-4298
[email protected]
Investor Contact:
Hannah Deresiewicz
Stern Investor
Relations, Inc.
212-362-1200
[email protected]