Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, LLC (RBJ&P) brokered an 18,396 s/f lease between Epizyme, Inc. and BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. at 325 Vassar St.
The 325 Vassar St. property will serve as Epizyme's corporate headquarters and will more than double the size of the life sciences company's previous location.
"Epizyme has made great progress in developing a new class of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of genetically-defined cancer patients based on breakthroughs in the field of epigenetics," said Jason Rhodes, EVP and CBO, Epizyme. "Our new location supports the growth catalyzed by our scientific advances and our recently announced partnership with GlaxoSmithKline and is an important step in the execution of our strategy to build a new, leading biopharmaceutical company. We anticipate that 325 Vassar, and the flexibility offered by its Universal Flex Lab, will meet our needs for the foreseeable future."
Epizyme is the first tenant signed by BioMed Realty Trust at 325 Vassar St. since its redevelopment as a Universal Flex Lab building. The Universal Flex Lab concept was designed to meet the needs of companies that require a high level of flexibility, such as those anticipating growth or those with dynamic requirements. Laboratory space, offices and meeting rooms can be installed and reconfigured quickly to maximize productivity and space utilization. Universal Flex Lab space reduces tenant costs because users can customize their space without excessive construction expenses.
"Today's life science companies appreciate having the ability to reconfigure their labs quickly as their technology platform evolves," said Steven Purpura, partner, RBJ&P. "BioMed's Universal Flex Lab space truly provides maximum flexibility and as such has been very well received by prospective tenants."
Jon Varholak and Eric Smith of RBJ&P represented Epizyme in the transaction. Purpura represented BioMed Realty Trust.
Laboratory Market Statistics - Cambridge
According to research by RBJ&P, the Cambridge submarket consists of 7,988,000 s/f of laboratory space and was 14.2% vacant, as of the quarter ended December 31st, 2010. [source: Richards Barry Joyce & Partners]
About Epizyme
Epizyme is leading the discovery and development of small molecule histone methyltransferase (HMT) inhibitors, a new class of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of genetically-defined cancer patients based on breakthroughs in the field of epigenetics. Genetic alterations in the HMTs are strongly associated with the underlying causes of multiple human diseases, including cancer. Epizyme's patient-driven approach represents the future of personalized therapeutics by creating better medicines for the right patients more quickly and at lower cost than traditional approaches. www.epizyme.com.

About BioMed Realty Trust
BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on Providing Real Estate to the Life Science Industry(R). The company's tenants primarily include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, scientific research institutions, government agencies and other entities involved in the life science industry. BioMed owns or has interests in 85 properties, representing 147 buildings with approximately 12.2 million rentable square feet. The company's properties are located predominantly in the major U.S. life science markets of Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York/New Jersey, which have well-established reputations as centers for scientific research. Additional information is available at www.biomedrealty.com.

About Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, LLC
Richards Barry Joyce & Partners is a full service commercial real estate firm providing creative solutions for its client partners. The company's focused team approach offers clients a competitive advantage in solving their local, national, and international real estate challenges. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners' unique platform offers a full range of real estate advisory services including market analysis, capital markets solutions, financial analysis, corporate services, portfolio review, and consulting services. For more information, please visit our website at www.rbjrealestate.com.