U.S. patent granted for Benitec hepatitis B program

SYDNEY, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Benitec Biopharma Limited (ASX:BLT; NASDAQ: BNTC; NASDAQ: BNTCW) is pleased to announce that a new patent relating to the Company's hepatitis B program has been issued in the United States.  Titled "HBV Treatment" and issued as U.S. Patent Number 9,790,502, it encompasses Benitec's RNA interference (RNAi) agent and the use of that RNAi agent to treat hepatitis B (HBV) infection.

Benitec's CEO Greg West said, "The grant of this US patent is considered to be an important addition to Benitec's intellectual property portfolio and provides protection for our advanced stage research activities towards new treatments for HBV.  It follows on from the earlier grants of Benitec's U.S. Patent Numbers 9,080,174 and 9,410,154."

For further information regarding Benitec and its activities, please contact the persons below, or visit the Benitec website at www.benitec.com

About Benitec Biopharma Limited:

Benitec Biopharma Limited (ASX: BLT; NASDAQ: BNTC; NASDAQ: BNTCW) is a biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics based on its patented gene-silencing technology called ddRNAi or 'expressed RNAi'. Based in Sydney, Australia with laboratories in Hayward, California (USA), and collaborators and licensees around the world, the company is developing ddRNAi-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions including OPMD, head & neck squamous cell carcinoma, retinal based diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration, and hepatitis B. Benitec has also licensed ddRNAi to other biopharmaceutical companies for applications including HIV/AIDS, Huntington's Disease, chronic neuropathic pain, cancer immunotherapy and retinitis pigmentosa.

About Hepatitis B:

Worldwide, 2 billion people (1 out of 3 people) have been infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 400 million people have become chronically infected, including 1 to 2 million people in the United States. An estimated 1 million people die each year from hepatitis B and its complications worldwide; about 5,000 of those are in the U.S. Worldwide, chronic infection with hepatitis causes 80% of all hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and more than 500,000 people die each year from this lethal cancer. About 5% of the population are chronic carriers of HBV, and nearly 25% of all carriers develop serious liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and HCC. Current treatment options include long-term antiviral therapies that permit low-levels of virus cells to replicate leading to HBV viral persistence and affecting therapeutic outcomes. There is a significant need for safe and convenient novel therapeutics that restore host immune response through targeted HBsAg knockdown offering HBV patients the potential for 'functional cures' by eliminating virus producing cells. Benitec's pre-clinical results demonstrate that a one-time treatment of BB- 103 added on top of a daily dosing regimen of a nucleoside inhibitor, results in a far superior suppression of HBV parameters, including a greater than 2 log knockdown of HBsAg, as compared to that nucleoside inhibitor alone.

Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any forward-looking statements that may be in the press release are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to the difficulties in Benitec's plans to develop and commercialise its product candidates, the timing of the initiation and completion of preclinical and clinical trials, the timing of patient enrolment and dosing in clinical trials, the timing of expected regulatory filings, the clinical utility and potential attributes and benefits of ddRNAi and Benitec's product candidates, potential future out-licenses and collaborations, the intellectual property position and the ability to procure additional sources of financing. Accordingly, you should not rely on those forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual future results.

SOURCE Benitec Biopharma Limited