SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Kazia Therapeutics Limited , an oncology-focused drug development company, today announced that Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Dr James Garner, has resigned from the company Dr John Friend, Chief Medical Officer of Kazia, will immediately assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, and will in due course join the Board as Managing Director.

Non-Executive Chairman of Kazia, lain Ross, commented: “Dr James Garner joined Kazia in February 2016 and was responsible for the transformation of the legacy Novogen business into the current organization. He drove the in-licensing of paxalisib and EVT801 and managed the deployment of a broad clinical program for both assets, in collaboration with leading cancer centres in the United States and Europe. He leaves to pursue other opportunities.

On behalf of the Board and on a personal basis, I want to thank James for his enormous contribution to Kazia, and to wish him every success in his future endeavours. As Kazia now moves towards further clinical readouts and potential commercialisation of paxalisib, it is timely to reposition the company’s executive team.

Dr John Friend brings a wealth of drug development and business experience to Kazia and has made an excellent contribution during his time with the Company. The Board is delighted that John has accepted the role of CEO as we believe he will be an excellent steward for the next phase of the Company’s growth.”

Dr Friend joined Kazia as Chief Medical Officer in November 2021. Since that time, he has been responsible for managing, and instrumental in expanding Kazia’s portfolio of clinical programs.

He is an accomplished physician executive with a more than 25 year career history and extensive background in establishing and leading critical business units in small to mid-sized biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Kazia, he was Chief Medical Officer at Cellectar Biosciences, Inc (NASDAQ: CLRB), a clinical-stage, oncology-focused biotech company based in Florham Park, NJ.

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