• Brain Cancers Forum on Glioblastoma & Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Forum

SYDNEY, May 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kazia Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA; ASX: KZA), an oncology-focused drug development company, has been invited to the White House to participate in the Cancer Moonshot Brain Cancers Forum on Glioblastoma (GBM) & Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), to be held on Thursday, 25 May 2023. 

In alignment with President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's commitment to end cancer, the forum will bring together patients, caregivers, oncologists, researchers, and government officials to discuss and spur action against rare adult and pediatric cancers.

Forum participants will discuss strategies to improve outcomes for GBM and DIPG patients, share progress in research and drug development, learn about efforts to accelerate progress, and generate commitments for further action.  Kazia's CEO, Dr. John Friend, was invited and will be participating in this forum.

The invitation for Dr. Friend to participate in the forum reflects the importance of Kazia's work in developing treatments for GBM and DIPG and reconfirms Kazia's position as a global leader in this field.

"We are honored to participate in the Cancer Moonshot forum on adult and pediatric brain cancer alongside global Neuro-Oncology thought leaders, researchers, US government officials and patient advocates," stated Dr. Friend. "Kazia is uniquely positioned to add tremendous value to the discussion because our lead clinical asset, paxalisib, is currently engaged in a number of brain tumor studies, including GBM and DIPG."

GBM is the most aggressive and most common primary brain cancer with a five-year survival rate of approximately 10%. Current therapies are limited to surgery, radiation and traditional chemotherapy. Kazia partnered with the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research in 2021 to evaluate paxalisib in an adaptive platform trial (GBM AGILE, NCT03970447) for which data is anticipated in 2023.

DIPG is a rare childhood tumor of the brain. There is currently no FDA-approved therapy for the disease, and median survival is just 9-11 months from diagnosis. Kazia partnered with the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) to evaluate paxalisib and ONC201 in an adaptive platform phase II trial (NCT05009992). Data from the study is anticipated in 2023.

In addition to GBM and DIPG, Kazia is currently supporting three US-based clinical studies to explore paxalisib for the treatment of tumor metastasis in the brain as well as several pre-clinical research collaborations to elucidate additional targeted treatment strategies for paxalisib in other tumor types. Results from these collaborations have been presented at the 2022 and 2023 meetings for the American Association for Cancer Research and 2022 meeting for the Society for Melanoma Research.

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 efficacy in 2021, and a pivotal study for registration, 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 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 tumors (AT/RT) in June 2022 and July 2022, respectively. Kazia is also developing EVT 801, 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 tumor types and has provided compelling evidence of synergy with immuno-oncology agents. A phase I study commenced recruitment in November 2021.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which can generally be identified as such by the use of words such as "may," "will," "estimate," "future," "forward," "anticipate," or other similar words. Any statement describing Kazia's future plans, strategies, intentions, expectations, objectives, goals or prospects, and other statements that are not historical facts, are also forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: the timing for results and data related to Kazia's clinical and preclinical trials, and Kazia's strategy and plans with respect to its programs, including paxalisib and EVT801. Such statements are based on Kazia's current expectations and projections about future events and future trends affecting its business and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties: associated with clinical and preclinical trials and product candidate development, related to regulatory approvals, related to our collaborations with third parties , and related to the impact of global economic conditions, including disruptions in the banking industry. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Kazia's Annual Report, filed on form 20-F with the SEC, and in subsequent filings with the SEC. Kazia undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this announcement.

For more information, please visit www.kaziatherapeutics.com or follow us on Twitter @KaziaTx.

This document was authorized for release to the ASX by John Friend, Chief Executive Officer.

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