KZIA Kazia Therapeutics Ltd

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Marshall Edwards, Inc., (NASDAQ:MSHL) announces that, through its licensor, Novogen Limited (NASDAQ:NVGN)(ASX:NRT), the Company has obtained allowance for a composition patent for the anti-cancer drug candidate phenoxodiol in the U.S. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has allowed for grant claims to pharmaceutical compositions and unit dose forms of various substituted isoflav-3-enes (including phenoxodiol). The issue and publication fees have been paid and the US patent is expected to issue in the first half of 2007. The period of exclusivity is anticipated to be at least until 2017. When granted, this patent will significantly add to the Novogen intellectual property portfolio surrounding phenoxodiol, which already includes granted protection for certain pharmaceutical uses including the treatment of cancer, and pending patent applications for manufacturing processes and modes of action. This portfolio includes granted protection in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Czech Republic, and Turkey and pending applications elsewhere around the world. The rights to develop and commercialize phenoxodiol have been licensed to Novogen's US oncology subsidiary company Marshall Edwards, Inc. Phenoxodiol is now in a multi-national phase III clinical trial as a chemotherapy resensitiser for advanced ovarian cancer and is known as the 'OVATURE' trial. Marshall Edwards Inc has recently appointed JPMorgan Securities of New York to coordinate the international out licensing and commercialization strategies for phenoxodiol. About Phenoxodiol: Phenoxodiol is an investigational drug and, as such, is not commercially available. Phenoxodiol is a novel-acting drug that inhibits key pro-survival signaling pathways operating via sphingosine-1-phosphate and Akt. Inhibition of these pathways leads to prevention of phosphorylation of key anti-apoptotic proteins such as XIAP. Loss of activity of these proteins restores the ability of chemoresistant tumor cells to undergo apoptosis in response to chemotherapy. The putative molecular target for phenoxodiol is a tumor- specific protein, accounting for the highly selective nature of the drug. About Novogen Novogen is an Australian based biotechnology company in the business of research and development of drugs derived from its phenolic technology platform. The Company manages its research and development programs utilizing the expertise and clinical research capabilities of universities and hospitals in Australia, USA and Europe. Novogen's drug program is researching and developing compounds for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease and anti inflammatory disease. About Marshall Edwards Inc: Marshall Edwards, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSHL) has licensed rights from Novogen Limited (NASDAQ:NVGN) to bring three oncology drugs -- phenoxodiol, NV-196 and NV-143 -- to market globally. Marshall Edwards, Inc. is majority owned by Novogen, an Australian biotechnology company that is specializing in the development of therapeutics based on a flavonoid technology platform. More information on phenoxodiol and on the Novogen group of companies can be found at http://www.marshalledwardsinc.com/ and http://www.novogen.com/. Under U.S. law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated in clinical trials and approved by the FDA as being safe and effective for the intended use. Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval, or the failure to obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties in clinical trial results; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in industry practice; and one-time events. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Marshall Edwards, Inc. CONTACT: Christopher Naughton, CEO Marshall Edwards, Inc., +011 612 8877 6196; or David Sheon of SciWords, LLC, +1-202-518-6321, for Marshall Edwards, Inc. Web site: http://www.marshalledwardsinc.com/ http://www.novogen.com/

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