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SYDNEY, Sept. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian oncology-focused biotech company Kazia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: KZA, NASDAQ: KZIA) is pleased to announce that it has been named as a winner in the 2019 ANZLF Trans-Tasman Innovation & Growth Awards.
The Awards celebrate the innovation, growth and impact of emerging businesses in Australia and New Zealand and were presented by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden at a ceremony in Auckland on September 12.
Kazia was recognised for being an innovative, product-focused and agile company and the award also reflected its significant progress in the clinical testing of its lead candidate, GDC-0084, which is being developed to treat glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults, as well as other forms of brain cancer.
Kazia CEO, Dr James Garner accepting his ANZLF Award from New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern
The Awards are run by the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) which brings senior business and government leaders together to help Australia and New Zealand prosper in the global economy.
Kazia CEO, Dr James Garner said, "We are thrilled to have been named as a winner in the Awards and to have been recognised not only for our diverse team and growth culture, but also for our innovative work in the clinical testing of drugs such as our lead candidate, GDC-0084, which is being developed to treat a range of brain cancers including glioblastoma as well as the aggressive childhood brain cancer, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)."
Kazia CEO, Dr James Garner with New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham.
On the DIPG clinical program front, Kazia also announced that St Jude Children's Research Hospital has successfully completed the first stage of its ongoing phase I study of GDC-0084 in DIPG.
The study, which has to date dosed thirteen patients with GDC-0084, has determined a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of 27 mg/m2 for paediatric use. In addition, the safety profile of the drug in children appears to be broadly similar to that in adults.
St Jude's will now advance into the second stage of the study, which is designed to explore signals of efficacy in this disease.
Dr Garner said, "DIPG is a devastating illness with a poor prognosis and a paucity of effective treatments. It has been a privilege to support the St Jude team on this incredibly important project. The study has recruited well ahead of our expectations, and we are delighted to have the first part successfully completed. Toxicity can be a significant challenge in the treatment of childhood cancer, so it is very encouraging that GDC-0084 appears to have an acceptable tolerability profile. We are excited to see further data in due course."
For more information, please see the full ASX Announcement: https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190912/pdf/448gjpmtl71wf7.pdf
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Media contact: Gabriella Hold, gabriella.hold@irdepartment.com.au, +61 411 364 382
About Kazia Therapeutics
Kazia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: KZA, NASDAQ: KZIA) is an innovative oncology-focused biotechnology company, based in Sydney, Australia. Our pipeline includes two clinical-stage drug development candidates, and we are working to develop therapies across a range of oncology indications.
Our lead program is GDC-0084, a small molecule inhibitor of the PI3K / AKT / mTOR pathway, which is being developed to treat glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults. Licensed from Genentech in late 2016, GDC-0084 entered a phase II clinical trial in 2018. Initial safety data was released in May 2019, and efficacy data is expected in 2H 2019. GDC-0084 was granted orphan designation for glioblastoma by the US FDA in February 2018.
TRX-E-002-1 (Cantrixil), is a third-generation benzopyran molecule with activity against cancer stem cells, and is being developed to treat ovarian cancer. TRX-E-002-1 is currently undergoing a phase I clinical trial in Australia and the United States. Initial data was presented at the AACR annual conference in April 2019 and the study remains ongoing. Cantrixil was granted orphan designation for ovarian cancer by the US FDA in April 2015.
About the ANZLF Awards
The Awards showcase to celebrate innovation, growth and impact of emerging businesses in AU and NZ, created by the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). More information is available here: https://www.accenture.com/au-en/about/events/trans-tasman-innovation-growth-award
About St Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, based in Memphis, Tennessee, is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. To learn more, visit stjude.org or follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.
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