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/

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