“In spite of recent advances in treatments for ovarian cancer, there is an extremely high rate of recurrence. The success of immune checkpoint inhibitors in other solid tumours has not carried through to high grade serous ovarian cancer. In data previously presented at AACR 2023, we demonstrated a high prevalence of VEGFR-3 expression in HGS-OC tumours, and we have now presented data showing a positive correlation between VEGFR-3 expression and hypoxia and PD1 resistance signature and a negative correlation with CD8 positive T-cell infiltration,” said Dr. John Friend, Chief Executive Officer of Kazia. “We look forward to completing dose escalation in stage 1 of the ongoing study and progressing to stage 2 of the Phase 1 Study .”
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 2 study in glioblastoma reported promising signals of clinical activity in 2021, and a pivotal study, 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 Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in February 2018, and Fast Track Designation for glioblastoma by the US FDA in August 2020. In addition, paxalisib was granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Designation by the US FDA for DIPG 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 evidence of synergy with immuno-oncology agents. A Phase 1 study commenced recruitment in November 2021.
For more information, please visit www.kaziatherapeutics.com or follow us on Twitter @KaziaTx.