On Friday, H.C. Wainwright maintained a Buy rating on shares of Kazia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:KZIA), with a price target of $2.00. The firm's stance comes after reviewing recent topline results from the Phase 3 GBM AGILE study involving the company's drug paxalisib.
Despite the study not meeting an aggressive predefined cutoff point in August 2022, the firm believes the drug shows promise for further investigation in a more defined patient population.
Kazia reported on July 10 that paxalisib-treated patients did not outperform the overall standard-of-care (SOC) group in terms of improved survival, registering a median overall survival (mOS) of 14.77 months versus 13.84 months. However, a comparison with concurrently enrolled SOC patients revealed a notable median OS benefit for paxalisib at 15.54 months against 11.70 months.
This improvement was attributed by management to an anomaly involving patients with unexpectedly good prognosis enrolled before the paxalisib arm began.
The results align with previous findings from a Phase 2 study where paxalisib achieved a mOS of 15.7 months in treated patients. Additionally, the safety profile of paxalisib remains consistent, showing no new significant adverse events. These outcomes have reinforced the firm's confidence in the potential of paxalisib for treating patients within a more targeted demographic.
Kazia Therapeutics anticipates presenting the full findings of the GBM AGILE study at a scientific meeting before the end of the year. The analyst's reiterated Buy rating and price target reflect a continued endorsement of the drug's prospects despite the initial setback in the Phase 3 study.
In other recent news, Kazia Therapeutics Limited has reported significant developments in their ongoing clinical trials. The company's drug candidate, Paxalisib, showed a survival benefit in a phase II/III clinical trial for the treatment of glioblastoma, a serious brain cancer.
The trial demonstrated an improvement in overall survival among newly diagnosed patients with a specific unmethylated genetic marker. Paxalisib-treated patients revealed a median overall survival of 15.54 months, a notable increase from the 11.89 months observed in patients receiving the current standard of care.
Simultaneously, Kazia Therapeutics also announced progress in its EVT801 Phase 1 clinical trial for cancer treatment. The first stage of the trial has been completed, with the Safety Review Team recommending a dosage of 400mg twice daily for phase 2 trials. The trial involved 26 patients, primarily with advanced ovarian cancer, and 46% of patients displayed stable disease or better after at least three treatment cycles of EVT801, a selective VEGFR3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
InvestingPro Insights
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