With two approvals for its cancer drug Tazverik and trials in various other tumor types underway, Epizyme is making changes at the top. CEO Robert Bazemore is handing the reins to Grant Bogle, a biopharma veteran who’s been on the company’s board since 2019.
Tazverik (tazemetostat) scored not one but two FDA approvals in 2020: for epithelioid sarcoma, the rare soft tissue cancer, and follicular lymphoma that has returned after previous treatment or never responded to treatment in the first place. However, the drug has had a sluggish rollout, falling short of analyst expectations, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors.
Social distancing rules meant the company had less face-to-face time with physicians, Epizyme's Chief Commercial Officer Vicki Vakiener said during the company's earnings call in February. The FDA approved Tazverik for epithelioid sarcoma in late January, giving Epizyme about two months of normalcy before the pandemic set in. But the drug’s second nod was granted in June, making its launch in follicular lymphoma “almost entirely virtual,” Vakiener said.
RELATED: Epizyme shouldn't blame COVID-19 alone for sluggish launch of its cancer med Tazverik: analysts
Beyond COVID-19, analysts figured Tazverik had other uptake hurdles. For one, the drug is approved for EZH2-positive follicular lymphoma patients who’ve tried at least two other therapies, but it's also cleared for other patients who don't have satisfactory alternatives. Though the label can “require some explanation,” in Vakiener’s words, it does open the drug up to a bigger patient population.
Epizyme started out promoting the drug for this broader patient group, including patients who don’t have the EZH2 mutation or haven’t been tested for it. However, the drug does work best in its natural target market of EZH2-positive patients. To zero in on that group, Epizyme teamed up with Quest Diagnostics in June to offer a testing program.
And the company signed a new partner on Sunday, inking a deal with Hutchmed to commercialize Tazverik in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as develop it in the country for solid tumors and blood cancers. Epizyme picked up $25 million upfront and could collect up to $285 million in milestone payments.
The company is now looking to Bogle, previously the chief commercial officer of Tesaro, now part of GlaxoSmithKline, to lead it into its “next phase of growth.” At Tesaro, Bogle led the launch of three products, including the PARP inhibitor Zejula and spearheaded the development of the company’s U.S. commercial unit.
RELATED: EHA: Epizyme's first-in-class multiple myeloma drug candidate inhibits tumors in mice
Bogle has held various oncology-related roles in companies including US Oncology, McKesson Specialty Health and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, now part of Takeda, where he led the commercialization of the multiple myeloma drug Velcade.
Epizyme is testing tazemetostat in a phase 1b/2 study in prostate cancer and plans to start a clinical trial in multiple solid tumors later this year. It is also developing a SETD2 inhibitor for blood cancers, which it plans to bring into the clinic by the end of the year.