Exhibit 99.1
ASX RELEASE
11 August 2023
KAZIA THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES CHANGE TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sydney, 11 August 2023 – Kazia Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA; ASX: KZA), an oncology-focused drug development company, announced the resignation of Mr. Iain Ross as Chairman and non-executive director effective immediately. The Board of Directors has elected Dr John Friend as Interim Chairman.
“On behalf of the Board and the whole team at Kazia, I would like to thank Iain for his impactful leadership during his tenure of more than 8 years at Kazia,” said John Friend, MD. “Since joining the Board and being appointed Chairman in 2017, Iain has provided the team with invaluable insights that have helped position the company for long-term success.”
“I look forward to continue working with the Board and executing our clinical strategy with the entire Kazia team,” continued Dr Friend. “As a late-stage oncology company, we will continue to assess and evaluate the mix of skills and experience that would be most beneficial to the Board as we advance the development of our product candidates.”
About Kazia Therapeutics Limited
Kazia Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA; ASX: KZA) is an oncology-focused drug development company, based in Sydney, Australia.
Our lead program is paxalisib, a brain-penetrant inhibitor of the PI3K / Akt / mTOR pathway, which is being developed to treat multiple forms of brain cancer. Licensed from Genentech in late 2016, paxalisib is or has been the subject of ten clinical trials in this disease. A completed Phase II study in glioblastoma reported promising signals of clinical activity in 2021, and a pivotal study in glioblastoma, GBM AGILE, is ongoing, with final data expected in CY2023. Other clinical trials are ongoing in brain metastases, diffuse midline gliomas, and primary CNS lymphoma, with several of these having reported encouraging interim data.
Paxalisib was granted Orphan Drug Designation for glioblastoma by the US FDA in February 2018, and Fast Track Designation for glioblastoma by the FDA in August 2020. Paxalisib was also awarded Fast Track Designation (FTD) in July 2023 for the treatment of solid tumor brain metastases harboring PI3K pathway mutations in combination with radiation therapy. In addition, paxalisib was granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in August 2020, and for atypical teratoid / rhabdoid tumours (AT/RT) in June 2022 and July 2022, respectively.
Kazia is also developing EVT801, a small-molecule inhibitor of VEGFR3, which was licensed from Evotec SE in April 2021. Preclinical data has shown EVT801 to be active against a broad range of tumour types and has provided compelling evidence of synergy with immuno-oncology agents. A Phase I study commenced recruitment in November 2021.
