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Milestone Strategic Agreement to Commercialise Australian Biotech Innovation
ST. LUCIA and CANBERRA, Australia, December 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Benitec
Limited (ASX: BLT), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Queensland Department of Primary
Industries (Queensland DPI), have today announced a strategic agreement that
will accelerate Australia's lead in the global commercialisation of DNA
Directed RNA interference, a breakthrough gene silencing technology. Called
ddRNAi, this technology is able to be utilised in most bio-research
institutes, biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. This field of
research is rapidly expanding, potentially generating market opportunities
worth billions of dollars.
Invented in Australia, ddRNAi is the most advanced technology for
inducing RNA interference (RNAi), a natural cellular mechanism that silences
or selectively negates the effect of targeted genes within any cell of any
multi-cellular organism.
Applications for this technology may include the treatment of human
disease such as cancer, auto-immune disorders and viral infections by
shutting down or suppressing genes that cause these diseases. Equally
important applications exist in the fields of plant improvement and animal
healthcare.
This agreement fully resolves the dispute between Benitec, CSIRO and
Queensland DPI. All parties retain research rights in their fields of
interest. John McKinley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benitec
said, "This deal provides clear and certain commercialisation pathways for
this technology."
Benitec will focus on commercialising ddRNAi for "human applications"
including research models used in functional genomics. CSIRO will focus on
commercialising "non-human applications", including plants, animals and
insects. Queensland DPI will continue its ddRNAi research and will benefit
from access to both Benitec and CSIRO's global commercialisation pathways.
CSIRO scientists have a distinguished track record in gene silencing,
having pioneered technologies including selective DNA-methylation
technologies. CSIRO successfully demonstrated DNA delivered RNA interference
in plants and continues to make significant investments in pioneering
research in this field.
Mehrdad Baghai, Executive Director of Business Development and
Commercialisation for CSIRO said "This agreement exemplifies CSIRO's new 'can
do' approach to partnering with industry to unlock the value of our science.
This gene silencing technology will be a key platform for Australian research
in Life Sciences over the next decade," said Baghai.
Queensland DPI's Director of Biotechnology Research Dr Peter Young said
the landmark agreement is a shining example of the value of partnerships
between public and private entities in Australia - allowing cutting edge
research to achieve its full commercial potential.
"DPI's scientists will continue to apply ddRNAi technology to seek
improvements in agricultural production systems, with unparalleled access to
the commercialisation routes of our two partners," Dr Young said. "This
agreement gives Benitec the freedom to pursue its strategic focus on the
clinical development and commercialisation of human therapeutics while
providing the opportunity to share in revenues CSIRO generates from other
applications," said McKinley. Benitec and CSIRO will share revenues generated
from the commercial applications of ddRNAi, each party retaining the majority
of revenue generated from its respective area. This agreement will unlock the
enormous value of the ddRNAi intellectual property by accelerating the
parallel development of commercial applications in both the human and
non-human fields. This agreement harnesses the extensive R&D capabilities of
CSIRO, Queensland DPI and Benitec and enables Australian researchers to take
the lead in the development and commercialisation of ddRNAi.
About ddRNAi Technology
DNA directed RNA interference (ddRNAi) is a method of inducing RNA
interference (RNAi). RNAi is a natural cellular mechanism that selectively
negates the effect of any gene by destroying messenger RNA (mRNA), the
courier that delivers instructions from a gene to manufacture a protein.
Suppression of protein synthesis offers a revolutionary new approach to
controlling many diseases. RNAi interrupts protein synthesis by selectively
destroying mRNA, "knocking down" or "silencing" the targeted gene.
The RNAi process is triggered by double-stranded RNA, where one strand is
identical to the target mRNA sequence. ddRNAi technology involves inserting a
DNA construct into a cell to produce the double-stranded RNA, resulting in
the destruction of the target mRNA and silencing the expression of the target
gene.
The ddRNAi approach has several advantages when compared with alternative
gene silencing technologies under development, such as antisense RNA and
siRNA. These advantages include lower cost and ease of preparation, more
versatile delivery options, the ability to silence genes in whole organisms
(transgenic ddRNAi) and the ability to control the expression and timing of
gene silencing.
About Benitec Limited
Benitec Limited, based in Queensland, was the first company to recognise
and demonstrate the effect of ddRNAi in mammalian and human cells and has the
world's only patents issued covering this discovery. This natural mechanism
is now recognised worldwide as the simplest and most precise method for
shutting down the activity of any specific gene. The technology is
immediately applicable to functional genomics and the identification and
validation of drug targets and, following internal project work and third
party collaborations, it is evident that this technology can also be applied
to the treatment of major human diseases such as cancers, autoimmune
disorders and viral infections by shutting down or suppressing the
disease-causative genes. Benitec offers customers licences to use ddRNAi in
the human field and is building a proprietary ddRNAi clinical development
program initially targeting HIV and certain cancers.
About CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation)
CSIRO is Australia's national science agency and one of the world's
largest and most diverse scientific research organisations. CSIRO ranks in
the top one percent of scientific institutions in 12 out of 22 research
fields. In its 76 year history CSIRO has formed strategic alliances with
government, industry, business and communities in 80 countries. CSIRO is
dedicated to the application of knowledge and science for real-world outcomes
for society and industry.
CSIRO's multidisciplinary capabilities encompass agriculture, minerals
and energy, information technology, health and environment and natural
resources. More than 80 spin-off companies are based on CSIRO-generated
intellectual property and expertise.
About Queensland Department of Primary Industries
The Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) seeks a better
quality of life for all Queenslanders -- a quality of life supported by
innovative world-class food and fibre industries, by responsible and
ecologically sustainable use of natural resources and by capable and
self-reliant rural communities.
As a core component of the Queensland Government's Smart State strategy,
DPI delivers innovative solutions along the food and fibre chain through
science and discovery, to meet consumer and community expectations. It
promotes food integrity and smart, market-driven food and fibre production.
With around 900 scientists, DPI collaborates with over 150 organisations and
is involved in 900 research projects annually, in Australia and overseas.
Contacts:
Benitec Limited:
Sandra Moore
Queensland, Australia
+ 61 7 3217 8540
+ 61 410 309456
USA
Greg Tiberend, Ruth Group
+1 646 536 7005
+1 917 952 7650 (cell)
CSIRO:
Richard Forbes
Director Media
Canberra, Australia
+ 61 2 6276 6440
+ 61 407 722 240
Queensland DPI
Dr. Peter Young
Director of Biotechnology Research
Queensland, Australia
+ 61 7 3346 2701
+ 61 419 798 643
CONTACT: Sandra Moore of Benitec Limited, +61-7-3217-8540, +61-410-309456; or
Greg Tiberend of The Ruth Group, +1-646-536-7005, cell, +1-917-952-7650, for
Benitec Limited; Richard Forbes, Director Media of CSIRO, +61-2-6276-6440,
+61-407-722-240; or Dr. Peter Young, Director of Biotechnology Research of
Queensland DPI, +61-7-3346-2701, +61-419-798-643/