WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Syros Pharmaceuticals, a life sciences company harnessing breakthroughs in gene control to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and other diseases, announced today the appointment of Vicki L. Sato, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Sato is a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, and Professor of the Practice in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at Harvard University. She was previously President of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Currently, Dr. Sato is a member of the Board of Directors for publicly held companies Bristol Myers Squibb Company, PerkinElmer Corporation, and Galapagos NV.
“We are thrilled to welcome Vicki, a renowned scientific and business life science leader, to Syros’ Board of Directors,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Syros’s Chief Executive Officer. “Vicki’s experience in building and advising life science companies across multiple therapeutic areas and stages will be valuable to us as we translate cutting-edge science in gene regulation to a productive discovery engine and first-in-class drugs in cancer and other therapeutic areas.”
Said Dr. Sato, “Syros has engaged an outstanding team of people to discover and develop drugs that will exploit important new control points in gene regulation. I am delighted to join the Board of Directors.”
Dr. Sato became a Professor of Management at Harvard Business School and a Professor of the Practice in Molecular and Cell Biology at Harvard University in 2006, following her retirement from Vertex. Prior to becoming President of Vertex, she was the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development leading programs in HIV, HCV, cystic fibrosis, inflammation and oncology. She joined Vertex in 1992, after serving as Vice President of Research at Biogen.
Dr. Sato received her A.B. from Radcliffe College, and her A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. She conducted her postdoctoral work at both the University of California Berkeley and Stanford Medical Center.
About Syros Pharmaceuticals
Syros Pharmaceuticals is a life sciences company harnessing breakthroughs in gene control to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Syros’ proprietary platform identifies the master switches for disease genes, opening a whole new approach to novel therapeutics. Syros’ initial focus is in cancer, but the company platform will also be applicable to other therapeutic areas. The Company’s founders are pioneers in gene control research and translation. Co-founded and backed by Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, Syros Pharmaceuticals is located in Watertown, MA. For more information, visit www.syros.com.
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Source: Syros Pharmaceuticals
Released September 5, 2013