Epizyme Announces Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application Covering Methods of Treatment for Cancers with EZH2 Inhibitors


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[STK] NASDAQ-NMS:EPZM

[IN] HEA MTC PHA

[SU] TRI

TO HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:

Epizyme Announces Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application

Covering Methods of Treatment for Cancers with EZH2 Inhibitors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Epizyme,

Inc. (NASDAQ: EPZM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company

creating innovative personalized therapeutics for patients with

genetically defined cancers, announced today that the U.S. Patent and

Trademark Office has granted a notice of allowance for U.S. Patent

Application No. 13/722,807 with claims that cover methods of treating

cancer with EZH2 inhibitors. The patent, entitled "Aryl-or

Heteroaryl-Substituted Benzene Compounds," will expire in

2033.

"We continue to build and strengthen our intellectual property

position, an important element of our overall product strategy," said

Zoran Zdraveski Ph.D., J.D., Chief Patent Counsel, Epizyme. "When

issued, this patent will cover claims directed to methods of treating

cancer, including non-Hodgkin, follicular and diffuse large B-cell

lymphomas, with small molecule EZH2 inhibitors including EPZ-6438."

Epizyme's small molecule inhibitor of EZH2, EPZ-6438 (E7438), is

currently being developed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients

with advanced solid tumors or relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma.

In 2014, Epizyme plans to initiate two proof of concept studies with

EPZ-6438, pending Phase 1 completion, one in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

patients with EZH2 point mutations and one in synovial sarcoma

patients. EPZ-6438 is being developed in collaboration with Eisai Inc.

About EZH2 Cancers EZH2 is a histone methyltransferase (HMT) that can

become oncogenic due to genetic alterations and cause non-Hodgkin

lymphoma and solid tumors. Oncogenic EZH2 mutations are associated

with two types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

of germinal-center origin, or DLBCL, and follicular lymphoma, or FL.

Currently, there are no therapies approved specifically for the

treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma associated with an EZH2 point

mutation.

About EPZ-6438 Epizyme and its partner Eisai are developing EPZ-6438,

a small molecule inhibitor of EZH2 created with our proprietary

product platform, for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients

who have an oncogenic (cancer-causing) point mutation in EZH2. In many

human cancers, misregulated EZH2 enzyme activity results in

misregulation of genes that control cell proliferation - without these

control mechanisms, cancer cells are free to grow rapidly.

Epizyme granted Eisai a worldwide license to EPZ-6438 (Eisai refers to

this therapeutic candidate as E7438), subject to Epizyme's right to

opt in for co-development, co-commercialization and profit share

arrangement with Eisai in the United States. Epizyme is working with

Roche and Eisai to develop a companion diagnostic to identify patients

with non-wild type EZH2, where EZH2 contains point mutations.

Additional information about these partnerships may be found here:

http://www.epizyme.com/about-us/partnerships/

In June 2013, Epizyme and its partner Eisai initiated a Phase 1/2

clinical trial of EPZ-6438 in patients with advanced solid tumors or

with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma. This program is currently

in the dose escalation phase. The company believes EPZ-6438 is the

second HMTi to enter human clinical development (following Epizyme's

DOT1L inhibitor, EPZ-5676). Additional information about this program,

including clinical trial information, may be found here:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01897571?term=7438&rank=1

About Epizyme, Inc. Epizyme, Inc. is a clinical stage

biopharmaceutical company creating personalized therapeutics for

patients with genetically defined cancers. Epizyme has built a

proprietary product platform that the company uses to create small

molecule inhibitors of a 96-member class of enzymes known as histone

methyltransferases, or HMTs. HMTs are part of the system of gene

regulation, referred to as epigenetics, that controls gene expression.

Genetic alterations can result in changes to the activity of HMTs,

making them oncogenic (cancer-causing). By focusing on the genetic

drivers of cancers, Epizyme's targeted science seeks to match the

right medicines with the right patients for a personalized approach to

cancer treatment.

For more information, visit www.epizyme.com and connect with us on

Twitter at @EpizymeRx.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements Any statements in this

press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the

Company, including statements about the Company's strategy, future

operations, development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, and

future expectations and plans and prospects for the Company and other

statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"

"expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target,"

"potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and

similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the

meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such

forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors,

including: whether the patents and patent applications owned or

licensed by the Company, such as the patent referred to in this

release, will protect the Company's technology and prevent others from

infringing it, the uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future

clinical trials, expectations of expanding ongoing clinical trials,

availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials,

expectations for regulatory approvals, development progress of the

Company's companion diagnostics, availability of funding sufficient

for the Company's foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and

capital expenditure requirements, other matters that could affect the

availability or commercial potential of the Company's therapeutic

candidates or companion diagnostics, and other factors discussed in

the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K

filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28,

2014. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this

press release represent the Company's views as of the date hereof. The

Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause

the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to

update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future,

the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These

forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing

the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

SOURCE Epizyme, Inc.

-0- 04/24/2014

/CONTACT: Media/Investors: Jeff Boyle, Epizyme, Inc., 617.674.1778, jboyle@epizyme.com; Media: Luke Dickinson, Spectrum, 202.955.6222 ext. 2503, ldickinson@spectrumscience.com; Investors: Stephanie Ascher, Stern Investor Relations, 212.362.1200, stephanie@sternir.com

/Web Site: http://www.epizyme.com

(NASDAQ-NMS:EPZM) /

CO: Epizyme, Inc.

ST: Massachusetts

IN: HEA MTC PHA

SU: TRI

PRN

-- DC11065 --

0000 04/24/2014 12:00:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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