Micrograph showing DLBCL
Epizyme, Inc., has announced its decision to stop developing tazemetostat for use as monotherapy or in combination with prednisolone for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
However, tazemetostat is still under investigation as a potential treatment for DLBCL as part of other combination regimens.
Tazemetostat is an EZH2 inhibitor being developed to treat multiple hematologic and solid tumor malignancies.
Epizyme has been conducting a phase 1/2 trial of tazemetostat in patients with relapsed and/or refractory DLBCL as well as other B-cell lymphomas and solid tumors (NCT01897571).
The trial includes DLBCL patients with and without EZH2 activating mutations. Some patients were assigned to receive tazemetostat monotherapy, and some were assigned to tazemetostat in combination with prednisolone.
Epizyme has conducted an interim assessment of data from this trial and concluded that the clinical activity observed “is not sufficient to warrant further development of tazemetostat in DLBCL as a monotherapy or in combination with prednisolone.”
Epizyme said it plans to present data from this trial at a medical meeting in the second half of 2018.
The company is still conducting other studies of tazemetostat in patients with DLBCL.
In one study (NCT02889523), Epizyme and the Lymphoma Academic Research Organisation are evaluating tazemetostat in combination with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisolone) in patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL.
In another study (NCT03028103), Epizyme is evaluating tazemetostat in combination with fluconazole or omeprazole and repaglinide in patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, other B-cell lymphomas, or solid tumor malignancies.