SYDNEY, Jan. 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kazia Therapeutics Limited
(NASDAQ: KZIA), an oncology-focused drug development company, is
pleased to announce the appointment of pharma industry executive,
Mr. Robert Apple to Kazia's Board of
the Directors (the "Board") as a Non-Executive Director.
Mr. Apple brings more than 25 years of senior leadership
experience in the pharma industry to Kazia, including 16 years with
Antares Pharma, Inc. ("Antares") as Senior Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, and went on to
serve as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2016 until its
acquisition by Halozyme Therapeutics in 2022. Mr. Apple also served
on the Board of Directors at Antares from 2016 until May 2022. He previously served on the Boards of
Directors of InKine Pharmaceutical, PaxMedica Inc., and Kerathin
Inc.
Prior to joining Antares, Mr. Apple served as Chief Operating
and Financial Officer at InKine Pharmaceutical. He also held prior
roles at Genaera Corporation, Liberty Technologies, and Arthur
Andersen & Company. He holds a B.A. degree in accounting from
Temple University, Philadelphia.
In a further renewal of the Board, Non-Executive Director Mr.
Bryce Carmine has been appointed
Chairman. Mr. Carmine joined the Kazia Board as a Director in 2015,
following a long and distinguished career at Eli Lilly & Co.
("Lilly") where he served as
Executive Vice President, and also as President for Lilly
Bio-Medicines. Prior to this, he led the Global Pharmaceutical
Sales and Marketing division and was a member of the Lilly's Executive Committee. Mr. Carmine
previously held a series of product development portfolio
leadership roles at Lilly
culminating when he was named President, Global Pharmaceutical
Product Development, with responsibility for the entire late-phase
pipeline development across all therapeutic areas for Lilly.
Commenting on the Board appointments, Kazia's CEO Dr.
John Friend said: "We are delighted
that Bryce has accepted the role of Chairman and that Bob has
agreed to join the Board. With deep biopharmaceutical leadership
experience across finance, business development, and commercial
operations, Bob's expertise and business acumen will be extremely
valuable. His experience, combined with that of the other directors
will ensure further oversight and stewardship of the Kazia
business, as the Company is poised to enter its next phase of
growth."
About Kazia Therapeutics Limited
Kazia
Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA) 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 clinical
activity in 2021, and a pivotal study, GBM AGILE, is completed,
with final data expected in first half of CY2024. Other clinical
trials are ongoing in
brain metastases, DMGs, 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 Designatio and Orphan Designation by the US FDA for
DIPG in August
2020, and for atypical teratoid
/ rhabdoid tumors 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 tumor types and has provided
evidence of synergy with immuno-oncology agents. A Phase I study in
advanced solid
tumors commenced recruitment in November 2021.
For more information, please
visit www.kaziatherapeutics.com or follow us on Twitter
@KaziaTx.
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 Company's corporate governance strategy, management team, and
the timing or results of any clinical trials. 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 development, including
the risk that preliminary or interim data may not reflect final
results, related to regulatory approvals, and related to the impact
of global economic conditions. These and other risks and
uncertainties are described more fully in Kazia's Annual Report,
filed on form 20-F with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission ("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.
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SOURCE Kazia Therapeutics Limited