Benitec Biopharma Ltd
| Biotechnology | |
| Traded as | ASX: BLT |
| Industry | RNA interference |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
Key people | Dr Peter French (CEO), Peter Francis (Chairman), Greg West (Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary), Michael Graham (Chief Scientist), Carl Stubbings (Chief Business Officer) |
| Products | Gene silencing, Gene expression, RNA interference (ddRNAi) |
| Revenue | $1,464,1782 (2013)[1] |
| Profit | ($4,801,752) (2013)[1] |
| Total assets | $1,750,710 (2013)[1] |
| Total equity | $640,340 (2013)[1] |
Number of employees | 7 (2013)[1] |
| Website | www.benitec.com |
Benitec Biopharma Ltd ASX: BLT is an Australian biotechnology company founded in 1997.[2] It is engaged in the development of gene-silencing therapies for the treatment of chronic and life-threatening diseases using DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) technology.[3]
RNA interference (RNAi) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has researched RNAi extensively, developing the small hairpin RNA concept employed in ddRNAi. Benitec Biopharma has an exclusive license to this ddRNAi technology in human therapeutic uses and research.[4]
Partnerships and Collaborations
Benitec Biopharma and its subsidiary Tacere Therapeutics has partnerships with:[1][3][5]
- For laboratory reagents: Promega, Chemicon (Millipore Corporation), Integrated DNA Technologies, Genscript, Ambion Inc (Applied Biosystems), Origene Technologies Inc, Sigma Aldrich
- For transgenic animals: Artemis Pharmaceutical GmbH, GenOway
- For commercial research use: Merck & Co, Pfizer
- Licensing agreements: Calimmune (US), Carnegie Institution for Science (University of Massachusetts, US), Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA) (University of New South Wales, Australia), Biomics Biotechnologies (China), Genable Technologies (Ireland), Stanford University (US), Royal Holloway (University of London, UK), Revivicor (US), Regen BioPharma (a subsidiary of Bio-Matrix, US), and UniQure BV (the Netherlands).
Research and Development
Benitec Biopharma and its partners and licensees are researching ddRNAi in the following fields:
- Hepatitis C (under development by subsidiary Tacere Therapeutics; Phase I/II trial; NCT01899092)[1][6]
- Hepatitis B (under development with partner Biomics Biotechnologies)[1][7])
- HIV (under development by Calimmune; Phase I/II trial; NCT01899092)[1][8]
- Neuropathic pain[9][10]
- Drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (under development by Children’s Cancer Institute Australia)[11]
- Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD)[1][9][12]
- Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (under development by partner Genable Technologies)[10][13]
- Wet age-related macular degeneration (under development with subsidiary Tacere Therapeutics)[1]
- Huntington's disease (under development by partner uniQure).[1][14]
Intellectual Property
Benitec Biopharma holds an intellectual property portfolio for ddRNAi technology in humans and mammals, currently totaling 104 patents in 20 jurisdictions.[3][10]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Benitec Biopharma Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Benitec. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "Australian Securities Exchange". ASX. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- 1 2 3 "GlobalData Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review". GlobalData. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ↑ "Licensing RNAi gene technology. CSIRO. 14 Oct 2011". CSIRO. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ "Australian Life Scientist. CSIRO, Benitec strengthen RNAi patent positions. 24 October 2005". Australian Life Scientist. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ "Clinical Trial NCT01899092". US National Institute of Health. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "Biomics Biotechnologies - Pipeline". Biomics Biotechnologies. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ↑ "Clinical Trial NCT01734850". US National Institute of Health. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Benitec Biopharma Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Benitec. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "Cancer Collaboration. 10 May 2011". UNSW Australia. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ↑ "Benitec Biopharma Annual Report 2011" (PDF). Benitec. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "Genable Receives $6.8 Million Investment to Develop Gene Therapy for Dominant RP". Foundation Fighting Blindness. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ↑ "uniQure licenses RNA interference technology to advance Huntington’s disease program". PR Newswire. Retrieved 21 January 2014.