Epizyme Appoints Jeffery Kutok, MD, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer
Epizyme, Inc a fully integrated, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel epigenetic therapies, today announced that the company has appointed Jeffery Kutok, M.D., Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. In this role, Dr. Kutok will direct the company’s scientific strategy, including preclinical research to support the development expansion of TAZVERIK™ (tazemetostat) and the company’s epigenetic pipeline.
“Creating safe and effective anti-cancer treatments that are orally available and can be taken from home has never been more important,” said Robert Bazemore, president and chief executive officer of Epizyme. “Given the profile of TAZVERIK, it is strategically important that we continue our efforts to explore its therapeutic potential in additional indications and combinations. Jeff’s extensive knowledge and insights will be instrumental in helping direct our scientific strategy for TAZVERIK, and in advancing our earlier pipeline across multiple important epigenetic target families, so that we may help as many patients in need as we can.”
Dr. Kutok joins Epizyme from Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he served as executive vice president and chief scientific officer, responsible for scientific strategy, preclinical development and translational science. Prior to joining Infinity in 2010, Dr. Kutok was an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where his laboratory conducted preclinical and translational medicine research and biomarker identification in oncology. Dr. Kutok has published over 200 journal articles, reviews and book chapters, focused on hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. He received his B.S. in biology and his M.D., Ph.D. in medicine and molecular pathology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. For his post-doctoral training, Dr. Kutok completed a residency in anatomic pathology and hematopathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a research fellowship at Harvard University in the laboratory of Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., where he studied an epigenetic mechanism of leukemia pathogenesis.
“Having dedicated my career to furthering the field of oncology research, I believe Epizyme has a meaningful opportunity to treat a broad range of cancers through novel epigenetic approaches,” said Dr. Kutok. “Our understanding of these targets, including EZH2, and the roles they can play in oncogenesis, has grown substantially over the years. As part of this team, I am committed to our goals of expanding the therapeutic impact with TAZVERIK and bringing forward additional epigenetic treatments for patients, families and physicians.”
Source: Epizyme, Inc.
