Kazia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KZIA) appointed Dr. Sudha Rao as chief scientific officer, according to a company statement released April 15.

Dr. Rao will lead research and development activities for the Sydney-based oncology company's drug pipeline, which includes paxalisib, a brain-penetrant dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor being developed for oncology indications including advanced breast cancer.

The appointment brings more than 20 years of pharmaceutical research and development experience to Kazia's executive leadership. Dr. Rao previously served as founder and chief scientific officer of EpiAxis Therapeutics and holds a professorial appointment at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, where she leads the Gene Regulation and Translational Medicine Laboratory.

Dr. Rao is listed as lead inventor on 39 international patents and has published research in journals including Science, Nature, and Immunity. She previously held senior scientific positions at Sanofi/Rhône-Poulenc in the UK and contributed to clinical genomics platform development.

At Kazia, Dr. Rao will oversee the company's three-platform strategy, which includes the paxalisib program, NDL2 (a PD-L1 protein degrader platform), and MSETC (a SETDB1-targeted epigenetic program). She will also advance the company's biomarker strategy and external collaborations.

"Dr. Rao is a leading translational epigenetics scientist, a breast cancer researcher, and the lead inventor behind the intellectual property linking PI3K/mTOR inhibition to epigenetic regulation," said Dr. John Friend, Kazia's chief executive officer.

Kazia's lead program paxalisib has received Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for multiple indications, including glioblastoma and solid tumor brain metastases.