Kazia Therapeutics Annual Report 2021

TARGETING CANCER ANGIOGENESIS: TARGETING THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF THE TUMOUR In a famous academic paper in 1971, an American medical researcher named Judah Folkman observed that tumours were ‘hot and bloody’. The reason, he surmised, was that a rapidly growing tumour depended on rich supply of oxygen and nutrients to grow, and consequently needed to trigger the formation of new blood vessels to supply those materials. The implication was obvious: if we could prevent the formation of new blood vessels, it would starve the tumour of essential nutrients, and thereby slow or even reverse its growth. More than thirty years later, Dr Folkman’s theory was proven. A young biotech company named Genentech secured FDA approval for a new drug named Avastin (bevacizumab), for use in bowel cancer. Avastin worked by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a chemical that tumours use to trigger the formation of new blood vessels. As Dr Folkman had hypothesised, blocking VEGF limited the supply of nutrients to the tumour and thereby slowed or even reversed its growth. Today, Avastin is one of the most successful cancer drugs of all time and is used in diseases as diverse as lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and even some cases of brain cancer. CHAPTER TWO IN THE KAZIA STORY VASCULARIZED, ANGIOGENIC TUMOUR TREATMENT WITH ANGIOGENESIS INHIBITOR VESSELS BEGIN TO REGRESS TUMOUR SHRINKS Source: Nature Reviews / Cancer WITH PAXALISIB WELL ADVANCED ON ITS JOURNEY TO COMMERCIALISATION, KAZIA HAS BROUGHT A NEW ASSET INTO THE PORTFOLIO: EVT801, A NOVEL DRUG CANDIDATE WITH POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF CANCERS. Kazia Therapeutics Limited Annual Report 2021 15 2021 AT A GLANCE CHAIRMAN’S LETTER CEO’S REPORT KEY MILESTONES PIPELINE REVIEW PARTNER FOR SUCCESS WORK WITH THE BEST #2 IN THE KAZIA STORY FINANCIAL REPORTS