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Kazia Raises AU$3.4 Million to Progress R&D Programs

  • Published October 18, 2018 12:00AM UTC
  • Publisher Wholesale Investor
  • Categories Company Updates

Kazia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: KZA; NASDAQ: KZIA), an Australian oncology-focused biotechnology company, is pleased to announce the completion of a placement of KZA shares, primarily to sector-specialist institutional investors in Australia and internationally, at a price of AU$0.38 per share. The placement will raise approximately A$3.4 million (exclusive of costs).

In addition, Kazia will launch a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) to allow eligible existing holders of
KZA securities the opportunity to acquire new fully-paid ordinary shares on the same terms
as the placement. The SPP will open on Tuesday 23 October 2018, and documentation will be
separately mailed to eligible shareholders at that time.

Key Points

  • High-quality specialist institutional investors lead this investment and strengthen the Company’s registry, motivated by corporate transformation, quality of management, and significant potential of pipeline
  • Capital raised secures Company’s ability to progress GDC-0084 and Cantrixil programs through four critical value-driving inflection points during calendar 2019
  • Placement of $3.4 million, at a small discount to market price of 11.6% and with no warrants, strengthens balance sheet while safeguarding interests of existing shareholders
  • SPP provides opportunity for existing shareholders to augment their holding at the same price as the institutional placement, and directors intend to participate

Kazia Chairman, Iain Ross, commented, “the ability of the Company to now command the interest of professional institutional investors is a powerful endorsement both of the quality of our pipeline and of the work that has been done over the past several years to move it forward. The next twelve months or so is a tremendously important period for Kazia, and today’s placement positions us to advance GDC-0084 and Cantrixil through their phase IIa and phase I studies respectively, providing four important data read-outs across the two programs.”

He added, “the Board has been determined to respect the support and commitment of existing shareholders and, to that end, today’s modest placement has been conducted at a small discount and without the issuance of warrants. In addition, we have signaled our intent to provide via a Share Purchase Plan the ability for existing shareholders to enjoy the same opportunity as institutional shareholders. Each of the directors have indicated their intention to participate in the SPP.”

Over the previous twelve months, Kazia has secured orphan designation from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead program, GDC-0084, which was followed by successful commencement of a phase IIa clinical trial in the United States. The phase IIa trial aims to provide safety and efficacy data supporting future use of the drug in glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain cancer, which is estimated to represent a commercial market opportunity in excess of US$ 1 billion. The mechanism of the drug is well-validated, given two approved products already in the class, but GDC-0084 is uniquely differentiated by its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. In September 2018, the Company announced a clinical collaboration with St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States to explore GDC-0084 in the treatment of an aggressive form of childhood brain cancer.

For further details on the raise please click here.

 

About Kazia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: KZA, NASDAQ: KZIA)

Kazia 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, GDC0084 entered a phase II clinical trial in March 2018. Initial data is expected in early calendar 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 in June 2018 and the study remains ongoing. Cantrixil was granted orphan designation for ovarian cancer by the US FDA in April 2015.

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