December 8, 2003
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. |