Epizyme is leading the discovery and development of a new class of drugs for the treatment of cancer patients based on breakthroughs in the field of epigenetics.  Our accomplished team of pharmaceutical scientists and leaders is building a pipeline of drug candidates that selectively target an important epigenetic enzyme class, the histone methyltransferases (HMTs).  Epigentic enzymes are strongly associated with the underlying causes of multiple human diseases.

The Company’s founding was initially catalyzed by the securing of a large and important intellectual property estate from Professor Yi Zhang of The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC). Dr. Zhang is a scientific co-founder of Epizyme and a leader in identifying and characterizing new and important enzymes that contribute to the epigenetic control of genes.

Nobel Laureate Professor Robert Horvitz of MIT co-founded Epizyme with Dr. Zhang and leads an accomplished and highly engaged Scientific Advisory Board that helps guide the Company in selecting compelling epigenetic targets and pursuing them through robust drug discovery programs that incorporate rigorous biological considerations, prioritization based on indications and clinical needs, and an experience-based, practical, and aggressive approach to drug development.

Epizyme’s uniquely experienced scientific team is composed of successful drug hunters who have worked in both biotech and pharma. Each member of the team has an extensive track record for creating and delivering numerous high-quality drug candidates beginning at the earliest stages of discovery and leading all the way to approved, marketed drugs. Collectively, the Epizyme team has been responsible for 58 INDs and 7 approved drugs.  Our team includes a renowned mechanistic biochemist who has published well-known books used in the industry to guide drug discovery, a cancer biologist who co-invented and helped to develop the first histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor (Zolinza®, vorinostat) to be approved by the FDA, and a medicinal chemist whose teams have taken 25 compounds into development, including Tarceva®. This team is complemented by a world-class Scientific Advisory Board whose members work in unusually close partnership with Epizyme’s in-house scientists and management. The result is a scientific team that pairs seasoned industrial drug discovery and development experience with first-rate, cutting edge scientists, a dynamic that will most effectively and efficiently advance Epizyme’s research and development programs.

Epizyme is strategically focused on building a pipeline of drug candidates that selectively target an important epigenetic enzyme class, the histone methyltransferases (HMTs).  Recent data indicate that HMTs are involved in various diseases including cancer, inflammation, and CNS disorders. Epizyme has selected several compelling, validated HMTs and is rapidly advancing these targets through active drug discovery programs focused initially on cancer indications.

Epizyme's integrated biology and chemistry platform enables the potent and selective targeting of HMTs. The platform is central to Epizyme’s rapid development of a robust pipeline of first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of HMTs. Parallel to our discovery efforts, Epizyme is pursuing an aggressive intellectual property strategy to create a dominant patent estate in this area.

Epizyme is financed by blue chip financial and strategic investors, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, MPM Capital, Bay City Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Astellas Ventures and Amgen Ventures.  The expertise and financial scale of these investors position Epizyme as the leading company translating breakthroughs in the field of epigenetics into a new class of drugs.