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Epizyme Appoints Peter Ho, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Development Officer and Michael Shih, J.D., as Vice President, Business Development
[September 15, 2014]

Epizyme Appoints Peter Ho, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Development Officer and Michael Shih, J.D., as Vice President, Business Development


CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --(Business Wire)--

Epizyme, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPZM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company creating innovative personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers, announced today the appointments of Peter Ho, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Development Officer and Michael Shih, J.D. as Vice President, Business Development.

"We are very pleased to welcome Peter and Michael to Epizyme," said Robert Gould, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Epizyme. "We expect Peter's expertise in translational medicine and oncology clinical development and Michael's experience in strategic partnerships on a global scale will be vital as we continue to execute on our strategy of building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company."

Dr. Ho will lead Epizyme's clinical development, regulatory and translational medicine functions. His prior experience includes positions at Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, DuPont Pharma and Novartis. He has successfully led teams and guided therapeutic candidate development from Phase 1 through Phase 3 activities. Dr. Ho's development experience includes imatinib (Gleevec®), nelarabine (Arranon®), lapatinib (Tykerb®), pazopanib (Votrient®), and eltrombopag (Promacta®).

Mr. Shih will lead Epizyme's partnership strategy and execution. Most recently, he served as senior director of business development at Forest Laboratories, where he was responsible for screening, sourcing and negotiating strategic partnership opportunities across several therapeutic areas, including oncology and oncology supportive care. Prior to joining Forest, Mr. Shih held the position of senior director of business development at Eisai, where his accomplishments included the EZH2 collaboration with Epizyme.

"With the first two histone methyltransferase (HMT) inhibitors to enter the clinic, as well as a strong pipeline and product platform, Epizyme is both a pioneer and a leader in translating the science of epigenetics into personalized therapeutics for oncology patients," said Dr. Ho. "Epizyme has multiple ongoing and planned proof-of-concept studies this year, making this an exciting time in the Compny's growth. I am delighted to be working with the Epizyme team to bring new therapies to patients with significant unmet medical need."



"Epizyme is well positioned to pursue its mission of creating personalized therapeutics for oncology patients and becoming a leading biopharma company, based on its deep scientific expertise, proprietary product platform and intellectual property position, first-in-class clinical programs and strong balance sheet," said Mr. Shih. "I'm excited to be joining the Company and look forward to contributing to its future success through strategic partnerships."

About Epizyme, Inc.


Epizyme, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company creating personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers. Epizyme has built a proprietary product platform that the Company uses to create small molecule inhibitors of a 96-member class of enzymes known as histone methyltransferases, or HMTs. HMTs are part of the system of gene regulation, referred to as epigenetics, that controls gene expression. Genetic alterations can result in changes to the activity of HMTs, making them oncogenic (cancer-causing). By focusing on the genetic drivers of cancers, Epizyme's targeted science seeks to match the right medicines with the right patients for a personalized approach to cancer treatment.

For more information, visit www.epizyme.com and connect with us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @EpizymeRx.

Gleevec® is a registered trademark of Novartis AG.

Arranon®, Tykerb®, Votrient® and Promacta® are registered trademarks of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Epizyme, Inc., including statements about the Company's strategy, future operations, clinical development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, expectations regarding ongoing or future clinical studies, expectations regarding the sufficiency of the Company's cash balance to fund operating expenses, expectations regarding future financial performance and future expectations and plans and prospects for the Company 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, expectations of expanding ongoing clinical studies, 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 or results of early clinical studies will be indicative of the results of future studies, expectations for regulatory approvals, development progress of the Company's companion diagnostics, availability of funding sufficient for the Company's foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, other matters that could affect the financial performance of the Company, other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of the Company's therapeutic candidates or companion diagnostics and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 2014. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.


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