On June 22, 2016 Epizyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: EPZM), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company creating novel epigenetic therapies for people with cancer, reported it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to conduct a clinical trial to investigate the anti-cancer effects of Epizyme’s EZH2 inhibitor, tazemetostat, and Genentech’s recently approved anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy, Tecentriq (atezolizumab), when used in combination (Press release, Epizyme, JUN 22, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513490]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! The study will evaluate this combination regimen for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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"A key part of Epizyme’s long-term vision is expanding the benefit that tazemetostat can bring to patients, and includes combining tazemetostat with checkpoint inhibitors," said Robert Bazemore, President and Chief Executive Officer, Epizyme. "We believe this study will be enhanced by our partner’s deep expertise in the field of immuno-oncology. This collaboration aligns us with a global leader in oncology and hematology, and advances Epizyme’s leadership position in the development of epigenetic therapeutics."
Under the agreement, Genentech will manage study operations for the planned clinical trial. The planned phase 1b clinical trial is expected to begin enrolling patients in the second half of 2016.
"The goal of this collaboration is to generate clinical proof-of-concept for the combination, building on tazemetostat’s activity as a monotherapy in a Phase 1 study of NHL and preclinical observations that EZH2 inhibition may have a priming effect on the immune system and improve the activity of checkpoint inhibitors," said Peter Ho, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Epizyme. "We look forward to evaluating this combination in patients with DLBCL, and to exploring the potential to expand the therapeutic opportunities for tazemetostat, as well as Tecentriq."
Tecentriq, the first and only anti-PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, recently received accelerated approval for people with a specific type of advanced bladder cancer.
About Tazemetostat
Epizyme is developing tazemetostat for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and patients with certain genetically defined solid tumors. Tazemetostat is a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor of EZH2 created by Epizyme using its proprietary product platform. In some human cancers, aberrant EZH2 enzyme activity results in dysregulation of genes that control cell proliferation resulting in the rapid and unconstrained growth of tumor cells. Tazemetostat is the WHO International Non- Proprietary Name (INN) for compound EPZ-6438.