Paul Hopper ? the name keep popping up...Kazia was formerly...

Paul Hopper ? the name keep popping up...

Kazia was formerly known as Novogen, Australia’s second oldest listed biotech behind Circadian (now Opthea).

Novogen bought GDC-0084 from Glioblast Pty Ltd, which had earlier licenced the compound from Roche’s Genentech.

Interestingly, Glioblast was owned by biotech Hall of Famer Paul Hopper and Leslie Chong, who oversaw development of GDC-0084 while at Genentech (she now heads up the ASX-listed Imugene).

Founded by Dr Graham Kelly, Novogen listed on the ASX in 1994 and then on the US Nasdaq in 1998. In its tortured history, Novogen has had many guises, including a developer of veterinary products and women’s natural health supplements and red clover leaf derivatives for cancer.

Dr Kelly left the company in 2005 after a strategic difference of opinion with the board, only to return as CEO in 2012. He departed (again) in 2015 to found the now ASX-listed Noxopharm.

Novogen’s board recruited Dr Garner in 2016 to take the company along a more commercially-focused path, rather than dabbling in early stage stuff that never went anywhere. Novogen then engaged in a legal spat with Noxopharm over intellectual property, which was settled in 2017.