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Kazia Therapeutics Limited Appendix 4D Half-year report 1. Company details Name of entity: Kazia Therapeutics Limited ABN: 37 063 259 754 Reporting period: For the half-year ended 31 December 2022 Previous period: For th

Key Takeaway: Kazia Therapeutics Limited reported a loss of $13,586,027 for the half-year ended December 31, 2022, reflecting a 2.9% increase from the prior year. The company continues to dedicate significant resources to its lead research and development program, paxalisib, which is undergoing various clinical studies. Despite gaining favorable designations from the FDA for paxalisib, the company faces challenges, including the absence of operating revenue and the recent lack of advancement in the GBM AGILE study.

Market Sentiment Analysis

POSITIVE FACTORS

  • Paxalisib has demonstrated the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.
  • The drug has received Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation by the FDA, providing potential advantages in the regulatory pathway.
  • Final data from the GBM AGILE study is anticipated in 2H CY2023, which may hold promise for the drug's approval.

CONCERNS & RISKS

  • The company reported a loss of $13,586,027 for the half-year ended 31 December 2022, a 2.9% increase from the previous year.
  • Kazia has no operating revenue during this period.
  • The paxalisib arm of the GBM AGILE study has not graduated to its second stage, potentially affecting future prospects.

Full Press Release Details

Name of entity: Kazia Therapeutics Limited
ABN: 37 063 259 754
Reporting period: For the half-year ended 31 December 2022
Previous period: For the half-year ended 31 December 2021
2. Results for announcement to the market
$
Loss from ordinary activities after tax attributable to the owners of Kazia Therapeutics Limited up 2.9 % to (13,586,027 )
Loss for the half-year attributable to the owners of Kazia Therapeutics Limited up 2.9 % to (13,586,027 )
dividends paid, recommended or declared during the current financial period.
The loss for the consolidated entity after providing for income tax amounted to $13,586,027 (31 December 2021 restated: $13,201,848).
The Company has no operating revenue. Operating expenses for the half year ended 31 December 2022 amounted to $4,276,514 (31 December 2021 restated:
The loss for the half year ended 31 December 2022 includes Research and Development spending of $9,359,972 compared with $10,988,075 for the
half year ended 31 December 2021 restated.
The consolidated entity s current assets at 31 December 2022 were $5,916,208 (June 2022 restated:
$7,608,240), with current liabilities of $5,582,379 (June 2022 restated: $4,685,156).
3. Net tangible assets
Reporting period Cents Previous period Cents Restated*
Net tangible assets per ordinary security (4.05 ) (0.62 )
4. Control gained over entities
5. Loss of control over entities
There were no dividends paid, recommended
or declared during the current financial period.
There were no dividends paid, recommended or declared during the previous financial period.
7. Dividend reinvestment plans
8. Details of associates and joint venture entities
Details of origin of accounting
standards used in compiling the report:
10. Audit qualification or review
Details of audit/review dispute or qualification (if any):
The financial statements were subject to a review by the auditors and the review report is attached as part of the Half Yearly Report.
Details of attachments (if any):
The Half Yearly Report of Kazia Therapeutics Limited for the half-year ended 31 December 2022 is attached.
Kazia Therapeutics Limited
Half Yearly Report - 31 December
The directors present their report, together with the financial statements, on the consolidated entity
(referred to hereafter as the consolidated entity ) consisting of Kazia Therapeutics Limited (referred to hereafter as the company or parent entity ) and the entities it controlled at the end of, or during, the half-year ended 31 December 2022.
The following persons were directors of Kazia Therapeutics Limited during the whole of the financial year and up to the date of this report, unless otherwise
Principal activities
During the financial year the
principal continuing activity of the consolidated entity consisted of pharmaceutical research and development.
Review of operations
The loss for the consolidated entity after providing for income tax amounted to $13,586,027 (31 December 2021 restated: $13,201,848).
The attached financial statements detail the performance and financial position of the consolidated entity for the half-year ended 31 December 2022.
At 31 December 2022, the consolidated
entity had total funds of $4,390,523 comprising cash in hand and at bank.
Research and development report
The lead R&D program for the consolidated entity is paxalisib (formerly known as GDC-0084), a small-molecule dual inhibitor of the phosphatidylinositide
3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which was licensed from Genentech, Inc. in October 2016. The development candidate is distinguished from the majority of molecules in this class by its ability to cross to the
blood-brain barrier, which has been demonstrated in multiple animal species and confirmed in human data.
Paxalisib is protected by granted or pending
composition-of-matter patents in all commercially relevant territories. Loss of exclusivity varies between territories, but is no earlier than 2030 in any territory. Paxalisib was granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for glioblastoma by the US FDA
in February 2018, and for the broader indication of glioma in August 2020. Paxalisib was granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) for certain forms of childhood brain cancer by the US FDA in August 2020, and was also granted Fast Track
Designation for glioblastoma in August 2020. In addition, paxalisib was granted ODD by the US FDA for the treatment of atypical rhabdoid/teratoid tumours (AT/RT), a rare pediatric brain cancer, in June 2022 and RPDD in July 2022. Paxalisib was also
granted Fast Track Designation for glioblastoma in August 2020. Collectively, these special designations provide paxalisib with enhanced access to the FDA, a waiver of PDUFA fees, a period of data exclusivity and, in the specific cases of RPDD, the
potential to secure a pediatric Priority Review Voucher (pPRV) should paxalisib be approved in either of these indications.
Paxalisib has completed a
47-patient phase I clinical study under Genentech in patients with progressive or recurrent high grade glioma (NCT01547546), which showed the drug to be generally safe and well-tolerated, and which provided pharmacodynamic proof of concept and
signals of potential clinical activity. This study was published in Clinical Cancer Research, and a companion paper detailing a post hoc analysis of imaging data from the study has been published in the same journal.
Kazia has completed a phase II clinical trial of paxalisib in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients with unmethylated MGMT promotor status (NCT03522298),
which is expected to be the primarily target population at commercial launch. This study has confirmed the safety profile and pharmacokinetic parameters of the drug in this specific population, and has provided convincing signals of clinical
efficacy. Final data from the completed phase ll study of paxalisib was presented at several neuro-oncology and medical oncology conferences. The key findings included a median overall survival of 15.7 months, which compares favorably to the figure
of 12.7 months that has been reported for temolozolomide, the existing standard of care.
In October 2020, the company executed a definitive agreement with the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research
(GCAR) to introduce paxalisib into the ongoing adaptive platform study, GBM AGILE (NCT03970447). This study is designed to provide substantial evidence for approval of new drugs in glioblastoma, and is intended to serve as the pivotal study for
paxalisib in US, EU, and other markets. The first patient recruited by a site opened to the paxalisib arm occurred on 7 January 2021. In November 2021, the study opened to recruitment in Canada. Expansion to several countries in Europe was completed
during CY2022. Final data from the GBM AGILE study is anticipated during 2H CY2023.
On 1 August 2022, the company announced that it had been informed by
GCAR that the paxalisib arm had not graduated to the second stage of the GBM AGILE study, and that recruitment had therefore completed with approximately 150 patients enrolled to the first stage. Those patients remain ongoing, with final data
anticipated in 2H CY2023. The interim graduation analysis may have been affected by the rapid and back-loaded recruitment profile of the study, and does not preclude a positive outcome in the final data.
Seven investigator-initiated studies continued to progress during the period: a phase I study with paxalisib in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) at St
Jude Children s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN (NCT03696355), a phase ll study in DIPG and other diffuse midline pediatric gliomas run by the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) (NCT05009992) (see description below), a phase II
study with paxalisib in HER2+ breast cancer brain metastases at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA (NCT03765983), a phase II multi-drug, genomically-guided study in brain metastases run by the Alliance
for Clinical Trials in Oncology (NCT03994796), a phase I study with paxalisib in combination with radiotherapy for brain metastases at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY (NCT04192981), a phase II study with paxalisib in primary
CNS lymphoma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA(NCT04906096), and a phase ll study in glioblastoma with ketogenesis run by Weill Cornell Medicine (NCT05183204).
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
no significant changes in the state of affairs of the consolidated entity during the financial half-year.
Matters subsequent to the end of the
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

Frequently Asked Questions

What were Kazia Therapeutics' losses for the half-year ended December 2022?

Kazia Therapeutics reported a loss of $13,586,027 for the half-year ended December 2022.

Did Kazia Therapeutics pay any dividends during the reporting period?

No dividends were paid, recommended, or declared during the current financial period.

What is the lead R&D program of Kazia Therapeutics?

Kazia Therapeutics' lead R&D program is paxalisib, targeting glioblastoma and other conditions.

What are the clinical trial results for paxalisib?

Paxalisib showed potential clinical activity and safety in a phase I study and phase II study.

What designations were granted to paxalisib by the FDA?

Paxalisib received Orphan Drug Designation, Rare Pediatric Disease Designation, and Fast Track Designation.

Last updated: Feb 28, 2023