Venture Capital Firms

VC Firm, Bay City Capital Leads $32 Million in Series B Funding for Epizyme

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the many biopharmaceutical companies that are making key discoveries in the field of genetic science, Epizyme announced today that it has closed $32 million in series B funding, which was led by Bay City Capital. Other investors who participated in this round of funding include Amgen Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, MPM Capital, and KPCB.

Founded in 2007, Epizyme is a company that is dedicated to making discoveries in genetic science and develop genetic drugs and other agents to treat a wide array of debilitating genetic diseases. Some of the diseases that Epizyme is looking to treat or cure with its new discoveries include cancer, inflammatory conditions, and metabolic and nuro-degenerative disorders. The team at Epizyme has discovered that epigenetics is one of the culprits of many diseases and goes beyond simple oncology.

According to Epizyme’s CEO, Dr. Kazumi Shiokasi, PhD; amazing progress has been made at a quick pace at Epizyme, and the company is already developing a pipeline of first class inhibitors of HMT, or histone methyltransferase enzymes, which are one of the key causes of cancerous mutations. Furthermore, the fact that the company is experiencing such tremendous support from its investors, Epizyme is ready to progress in more leads of this field of study.

One of the biggest discoveries that the team at Epizyme has made is that epigenetic enzymes are one of the key players in the formation of cancer. Furthermore, epigenetic enzymes do not need to be observed only for oncology, but for other genetic mutative disorders as well.

As part of the agreement with this round of funding, Bay City’s Dr. Carl Goldfischer, MD will join the company’s board of directors.

Dr. Goldfischer further added to what Dr. Shiosaki said and stated that Epizyme’s innovative approach to making drugs that inhibit HMTs can develop revolutionary therapies in the oncology field of the medical industry. Furthermore, the company has an amazing team of scientists who are devoted to their work, which validates the investment that Bay City Capital has made in the company.

Founded in 1997, Bay City Capital is a vc firm that boasts of a $1.5 billion in capital under its management and has since its inception invested in over 70 companies. The vc firm primarily invests in the life sciences industry. Other companies in Bay City Capital’s portfolio include Aqua Bounty Technologies, Avera Pharmaceuticals, Calypso Medical Technologies, Hyperion Therapeutics, and others.

For more information about Epizyme, click here.

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