Ipsen to acquire Epizyme

Ipsen announced that it entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Epizyme. The acquisition is anticipated to be closed by the end of the third quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of all closing conditions. Epizyme is commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and delivers transformative therapies against novel epigenetic targets for cancer patients.

The primary focus of the acquisition is on Tazverik® (tazemetostat), which is a first-in-class, chemotherapy-free EZH2 inhibitor. Tazverik was granted Accelerated Approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020. Currently, Tazverik® is indicated for adults with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) whose tumors are positive for an EZH2 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test and who have received at least two prior systemic therapies and for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options, as well as for adults and pediatric patients aged 16 years and older with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma not eligible for complete resection. Moreover, Tazverik is currently in the Phase III stage of a registrational confirmatory study (SYMPHONY-1) in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide (R2) in patients with relapsed/refractory FL who have received at least one prior therapy. Additionally, Ipsen acquired other molecules that are in development, including oral SETD2 inhibitor and EZM0414.