Kazia Therapeutics Limited (NASDAQ: KZIA) shares surged 20.29% to $8.21 as of the latest check, driven by encouraging early clinical data from its Phase 1b trial.
Impressive Early Efficacy
In the first patient treated with a combination of paxalisib, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), and conventional chemotherapy, Kazia Therapeutics revealed initial efficacy findings. The patient, a 61-year-old woman with triple-negative breast cancer that had spread to her left upper lung, showed significant biological responses at the end of the first 21-day dosage cycle.
Notable Declines in Tumor Cell Activity
Early data from the study showed a significant decrease in CTC clusters and a reduction of over 50% in circulating tumor cells (CTCs), both of which are associated with a high risk of metastasis. Additionally, a decrease in the mesenchymal phenotype of the remaining CTCs was noted, suggesting that aggressive cancer cell characteristics may have been suppressed.
These findings are in line with earlier preclinical research that was published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and showed that Paxalisib and immunotherapy dramatically destroyed CTCs and clusters.
Therapeutic Mixture Displays Distinct Synergy
Compared to individual CTCs, CTC clusters are known to be 20–100 times more effective at promoting metastasis. While immunotherapies typically only demonstrate delayed or small decreases, these clusters tend to momentarily rise before stabilizing in many chemotherapy regimens.
Even in the first treatment cycle, the combination therapy’s quick drop points to a synergistic mechanism that is uncommon with monotherapies. For Kazia’s cancer pipeline, this early clinical confirmation represents a significant turning point.
Next Steps in Clinical Evaluation
Motivated by these preliminary findings, Kazia Therapeutics intends to increase the number of participants in the Phase 1b research in order to conduct a more thorough assessment of pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability. KZIA will also perform long-term evaluations, including imaging, progression-free survival, and biomarker analysis, with the goal of correlating CTC dynamics with radiographic results.
Kazia Therapeutics believes the Paxalisib-based combination has the potential to offer a meaningful early intervention in metastatic cancer progression.
