CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & BEDMINSTER, N.J.– Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS), a leader in the development of medicines that control the expression of genes, and TYME Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TYME), today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Syros will acquire TYME, including its pipeline assets and net cash at closing which after accounting for wind-down and transaction expenses is currently estimated to be approximately $60 million. The combined company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “SYRS” and will be led by Syros’ existing management team, including Nancy Simonian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syros, and will remain focused on advancing Syros’ pipeline of small molecule medicines for the treatment of cancer.
Concurrent with the merger, Syros announced an oversubscribed $130 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing at a price per unit of $0.94. New and existing investors in the PIPE which was led by a life sciences-focused investment fund include Syros co-founder and founding investor Flagship Pioneering, Avidity Partners, Deep Track Capital, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Invus, Samsara BioCapital, Adage Capital Partners LP, Ally Bridge Group and Cowen Healthcare Investments, as well as other investors. Additionally, Syros stockholders holding approximately 28% of the outstanding shares of Syros common stock and TYME stockholders holding approximately 30% of the outstanding shares of TYME common stock signed support agreements obligating them to vote in favor of the transactions.
Syros also announced an amendment to its senior secured loan facility with Oxford Finance LLC which, subject to certain conditions, will extend the interest-only payment period from March 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024 (and, upon the achievement of certain milestones, September 1, 2024), and will extend the maturity date from February 1, 2025 to February 1, 2026 (and, upon the achievement of certain milestones, August 1, 2026).
Following the closing of the merger, financing and debt agreement amendment, the total cash balance of the combined company is expected to be approximately $240 million (after transaction expenses), sufficient to fund Syros’ planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2025.
“This is a pivotal moment for Syros. We believe these transactions will bring us the necessary capital to advance our late-stage clinical programs toward commercialization, including tamibarotene, currently being studied in the SELECT-MDS-1 trial, the randomized portion of the SELECT-AML-1 trial, and SY-2101, which we plan to advance into a Phase 3 trial next year for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia,” said Dr. Simonian. “After evaluating safety lead-in data from the SY-5609 Phase 1 trial in pancreatic cancer we will assess the optimal path forward for this program. Additionally, we have decided to seek partnerships for our oncology discovery programs. Together, these decisions allow us to focus on the most advanced programs across our targeted hematology portfolio where we believe we can more rapidly address significant unmet needs. We are grateful for our new and existing investors, as well as to the TYME team for their spirit of collaboration throughout this process and look forward to delivering on our vision of bringing forward medicines that redefine the standard of care for cancer patients.”
“Following an extensive review of numerous strategic alternatives, it was clear that the proposed merger with Syros was the best option for our shareholders,” said Richie Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of TYME Technologies. “The team at Syros shares our unwavering commitment to develop medicines that make a profound difference in patients’ lives. Syros has a robust pipeline with its lead program in Phase 3, an experienced management and board, and now is well capitalized to execute on its clinical endeavors. Additionally, Syros will continue our work of evaluating the best path forward for the SM–88 program.”
