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Kazia raises USD 40m upfront, links another USD 80m to breast cancer readouts

Kazia raises USD 40m upfront, links another USD 80m to breast cancer readouts

Australia-based Kazia Therapeutics Limited (Nasdaq: KZIA) closed an oversubscribed, tranched registered public offering generating USD 40 million in upfront gross proceeds, with potential proceeds of up to USD 120 million if all accompanying warrants are exercised. The financing is intended primarily to support clinical development of paxalisib, the company's brain-penetrant PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitor, across breast cancer and colorectal cancer indications.

The offering was priced at USD 15.50 per American Depositary Share (ADS) and includes two series of warrants linked to planned breast cancer readouts. Series A warrants are exercisable at USD 17.825 per ADS and expire on the earlier of five years after issuance or 30 days following Kazia's Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) data readout, expected in H2 2027. Series B warrants are exercisable at USD 19.375 per ADS and are similarly linked to the company's HR+/HER2- breast cancer readout expected in H1 2028. Full exercise of both tranches could generate an additional USD 80 million in gross proceeds.

The structure gives Kazia access to additional capital around the two clinical milestones if its share price supports warrant exercise. The raise follows a USD 50 million private placement completed in December 2025.

Paxalisib is being evaluated in an active Phase Ib trial in advanced breast cancer in combination with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy across TNBC and HR+/HER2- subtypes. In August 2026, Kazia reported a 100% clinical benefit rate among the first six response-evaluable Stage IV TNBC patients treated at the 30 mg daily dose, comprising five objective responses and one case of stable disease. The larger Stage IV TNBC readout expected in H2 2027 represents the first clinical milestone linked to the warrant structure. Kazia also plans to use proceeds to support paxalisib development in pMMR colorectal cancer.

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Beyond breast cancer, paxalisib has completed the GBM-AGILE Phase II/III study in newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma, where a prespecified secondary analysis showed a 3.8-month improvement in median overall survival versus standard of care. Following an initial FDA Type C meeting, Kazia requested a follow-up meeting in October 2025 to discuss the survival findings and a potential regulatory pathway. Paxalisib holds Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations for glioblastoma.

The financing shifts the near-term investment focus toward whether the early six-patient TNBC signal can be reproduced in a larger dataset. If the warrants are exercised, Kazia could secure up to an additional USD 80 million around the same breast cancer readouts that will test the durability and scalability of that initial efficacy signal.


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