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Kazia Therapeutics Limited Directors’ report 31 December 2022 | |  |
The investigator-initiated PNOC study is a phase II multi-arm study, which includes several combinations of paxalisib with ONC201 (Chimerix, Inc), in paediatric patients with diffuse midline gliomas, including DIPG (NCT05009992). This study is run by the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), based at the University of California, San Francisco. In October 2022, the Company announced the expansion of the PNOC022 study to Australia and additional sites in Israel, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The study is currently open to recruitment at 22 sites globally.
In August 2022, the Company announced the presentation of promising new data from an ongoing phase l study of paxalisib in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of brain metastases, sponsored by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. Interim data from the first stage of the study was presented during an oral presentation at an international neuro-oncology conference on CNS clinical trials and brain metastases. The data reported in the initial exploratory stage that of the 9 patients evaluated for efficacy, all 9 patients exhibited complete or partial response, according to RANO-BM criteria, with breast cancer representing the most common primary tumour. Recruitment to the expansion stage has commenced, with the objective of recruiting an additional 12 patients.
In the context of a previously declared strategy to explore the use of paxalisib in cancers outside the central nervous system, the Company has entered into a number of research collaborations with leading cancer centers. In October 2022, such a collaboration at the Huntsman Cancer Center at the University of Utah presented preclinical data for paxalisib in melanoma at a conference for melanoma research in Edinburgh, Scotland. The data, summarized in a poster presentation, demonstrated potent single agent activity for paxalisib, as well as synergy with BRAF and MEK inhibitors, which are standard of care therapies in this disease.
In December 2022, the Company announced the existence of a research collaboration with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, to explore the use of paxalisib as an immodulator in the treatment of solid tumours. This work potentially identifies a novel mechanism of action for the drug, and consequently has been patented to secure novel intellectual property. Potentially, the project may support use of the drug in combination with immuno-oncology therapies.
The company’s second R&D program is EVT801, a small-molecule selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3), which was licensed from Evotec SE in April 2021. The development candidate exhibits a very high degree of selectivity for VEGFR3 over other protein kinases, and this is expected to be associated with a favourable toxicity profile in the clinic and, potentially, a lesser propensity for secondary resistance.
In November 2021, the company commenced recruitment to a phase I multiple-ascending dose study of EVT801 in patients with advanced cancer (NCT05114668). This study is designed to provide information on the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of EVT801 in humans, and to establish the maximum tolerated dose for future studies. The study also includes a rich suite of translational biomarkers which will provide detailed information about the pharmacological activity of the drug. The study is ongoing at two sites in France, with initial data anticipated in CY2023.
In December 2022, scientists working for and with Evotec SE, the Company’s licensing partner for EVT801, published a summary of their preclinical research on the drug in the cancer journal, Cancer Research Communications. The paper outlines the substantial body of evidence supporting the activity of EVT801 as an anti-cancer therapy, and includes comparative data against several approved therapies with similar mechanisms of action. The paper also presents combination data with several immuno-oncology agents showing evidence of synergy.
Significant changes in the state of affairs
There were no significant changes in the state of affairs of the consolidated entity during the financial half-year.
Matters subsequent to the end of the financial half-year
On 3 January 2023 a deposit of US$428,096 was received from Labcorp Early Development Laboratories Inc. representing the refund due on the completion of the Paxalisib Phase II trial.
On 16 January 2023 Kazia announced a placement to professional and sophisticated investors and the launch of an associated Share Purchase Plan for eligible shareholders. The placement of A$4,500,000, comprised of an unconditional placement of A$2,792,572 at $0.11 per share; and a conditional placement of A$1,707,428 at $0.11 per share, and was approved by shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 24 February 2023. Each placement was made to professional and sophisticated investors. The Placement was not underwritten. In addition, eligible shareholders were offered the opportunity to acquire up to A$30,000 of new shares through a Share Purchase Plan (SPP). All new shares issued under the Placement and the SPP ranked equally with the existing ordinary shares. Funding will be used to drive Kazia’s clinical program toward several critical inflection points through CY2023, including the final data read out on the paxalisib GBM AGILE study and for general working capital purposes. Funds raised by the SPP totalled A$2,606,000.
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