Boehringer Ingelheim signed a global collaboration with Epizyme to jointly research and develop novel small molecule inhibitors directed toward two previously unaddressed epigenetic targets, i.e. enzymes within the helicase and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) families that when dysregulated have been linked to the development of cancers. The collaboration will focus on lung and other solid tumor cancers in patients with defined mutations, sub-populations that currently lack precision medicine treatments.
Epizyme will receive an upfront payment of $15 million and an additional $5 million in research funding in 2019; the company is also eligible to receive more than $280 million in additional payments for research, development, regulatory and commercial milestones.