CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Epizyme, Inc. (Nasdaq: EPZM), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel epigenetic therapies, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for accelerated approval of tazemetostat, its lead investigational agent. Epizyme has proposed an indication of metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma not eligible for curative surgery. The FDA granted Priority Review for the NDA and has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of January 23, 2020. Priority Review is granted to investigational therapies that, if approved, may offer significant improvements in the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a serious condition.
“We are thrilled with FDA’s acceptance of this first tazemetostat NDA submission for priority review, and to be an important step closer to achieving our mission of rewriting treatment for patients with cancer and other serious diseases,” said Robert Bazemore, president and chief executive officer of Epizyme. “This is a significant achievement in the development of this potentially first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor, and we look forward to working with FDA during the review. If approved, we believe tazemetostat could become an important new option in the treating physicians’ arsenal. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to those patients, families and medical teams who have participated in our clinical studies and helped bring tazemetostat to this stage.”
Epizyme’s NDA submission is based primarily on data from the 62 patient epithelioid sarcoma cohort of its ongoing Phase 2 study of tazemetostat. These data, recently reported at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, showed that tazemetostat treatment resulted in clinically meaningful and durable responses, and was generally well-tolerated.
To support full approval of tazemetostat for epithelioid sarcoma, Epizyme will initiate a global confirmatory trial. The company plans to conduct a 1:1 randomized, controlled clinical trial in the front-line treatment setting comparing tazemetostat in combination with doxorubicin versus placebo plus doxorubicin in approximately 150 patients. The primary efficacy endpoint will be progression-free survival, and secondary efficacy endpoints will include overall survival, disease control rate, overall response rate and duration of response. The confirmatory study will include a safety run-in that is expected to begin in the second half of 2019.
Investor Conference Call
Epizyme will host an investor conference call and webcast today, July 25, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. To participate in the call, please dial (877) 844-6886 (domestic) or (970) 315-0315 (international) and refer to conference ID 5749851. A live webcast will be available in the investor section of the company’s website at www.epizyme.com. The webcast will be archived on the website for 60 days.
About the Tazemetostat Clinical Trial Program
Tazemetostat, an oral, potent, first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor, is currently being studied as a monotherapy in ongoing clinical programs in patients with certain molecularly defined solid tumors, including epithelioid sarcoma and other INI1-negative tumors, and in patients with follicular lymphoma, both with and without EZH2 activating mutations. Multiple clinical studies are underway through collaborations assessing tazemetostat as a combination treatment for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Epizyme also plans to conduct multiple additional clinical trials designed to evaluate the potential benefit of tazemetostat in earlier lines of therapy for follicular lymphoma, as well as new combinations and cancer indications.
About Epizyme, Inc.
Epizyme, Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to rewriting treatment for cancer and other serious diseases through novel epigenetic medicines. Epizyme is broadly developing its lead product candidate, tazemetostat, a first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor, with studies underway in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies, as a monotherapy and combination therapy in relapsed and front-line disease. The company also is developing a novel G9a program with its next development candidate, EZM8266, which is targeting sickle cell disease. By focusing on the genetic drivers of disease, Epizyme’s science seeks to match targeted medicines with the patients who need them. For more information, visit www.epizyme.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Epizyme, Inc. 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: uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future clinical studies and in the availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical studies; whether interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial; whether results from preclinical studies or earlier clinical studies will be predictive of the results of future trials; whether results from clinical studies will warrant meetings with regulatory authorities, submissions for regulatory approval or review by governmental authorities under the accelerated approval process; whether Fast Track Designation and Orphan Drug Designations will provide the benefits for which tazemetostat is eligible; whether the NDA submission referred to in this release will be accepted for review under the accelerated approval process or at all, or approved on a timely basis or at all; whether the company's cash resources will be sufficient to fund 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; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's most recent Form 10-Q filed with the SEC and in the company's other filings from time to time with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company's views as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. The company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the company's views to change.
