WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Syros Pharmaceuticals, a therapeutics company focused on discovering and developing novel gene control therapies, today announced the addition of three senior members to the company. Jonathan Garen joins the Company as Chief Business Officer; Christopher Roberts, Ph.D., as Vice President of Chemistry and Early Development; and Colleen DeSimone as Vice President of Finance and Controller.
“We are very pleased to welcome Jon, Chris and Colleen to Syros during this exciting and important time for the company,” said Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros. “This talented group brings a wealth of experience and leadership in their respective fields, ranging from drug discovery and early development to corporate growth. They will be a vital part of our team in the months ahead as we use our gene control platform to advance first-in-class programs in molecularly-defined patient populations towards the clinic.”
Jonathan Garen joins Syros from Actavis, where he served as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Development following Actavis’ acquisition of Forest Laboratories in 2014. Prior to the acquisition, he was Assistant Vice President of Business Development at Forest where he worked for more than 10 years and closed 11 deals – including three products currently on the market. Prior to Forest, Jon was a Director in the Global Licensing department at Pharmacia Corporation, and before that he was a founder and Vice President of TechEx, an online exchange service matching licensing opportunities from academic research institutions with potential life sciences licensors and investors. Jon earned his Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from Yale and his B.S. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Christopher Roberts joins Syros from GlaxoSmithKline, where he held several leadership positions, most recently as Vice President of the AntiViral Discovery Performance Unit as part of the global GSK Infectious Disease Therapy Unit. He also served as Director of Medicinal Chemistry in the HCV Discovery Performance Unit, and worked as an Early Clinical Development Leader throughout his time at GSK. Before that, Chris held several positions in Medicinal Chemistry at Genelabs Technologies prior to its acquisition by GSK in 2009. He has led multiple assets from discovery into clinical development, with two establishing successful clinical proof-of-concept outcomes. Chris holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Riverside, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Whitworth College. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in bioorganic chemistry at the University of Bern in Switzerland with Prof. Christian Leumann.
Colleen DeSimone joins Syros from Takeda Pharmaceuticals where she served as Senior Director, Finance and Controller, responsible for all aspects of financial reporting, accounting and internal controls of Takeda’s oncology business unit in Cambridge, MA. She held several financial and operational positions at Millennium Pharmaceuticals before its acquisition by Takeda in 2008. Colleen has more than 18 years of financial analysis, accounting and management experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. She began her career at Deloitte Touche LLP in Boston, where she worked with a variety of public and private audit clients. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Colleen received a B.A in Economics-Accounting from the College of the Holy Cross.
About Syros Pharmaceuticals
Syros Pharmaceuticals is a therapeutics 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 and biomarkers. The Company’s founders are pioneers in gene control research and translation. Co-founded by Flagship Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, Syros Pharmaceuticals is located in Watertown, MA. For more information, visit www.syros.com.
