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Benitec Biopharma receives $5.59M to advance gene silencing tech

Published: 15:00 24 Mar 2017 AEDT

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The refund relates to research and development costs

Benitec Biopharma (ASX:BLT) has received a $5.59 million cash refund under the Federal Government’s R&D Tax Incentive Scheme.

The refund relates to the costs of research and development which qualify as eligible R&D expenditure under the Federal Government’s Scheme.

The funds will be used to advance Benitec’s human therapeutic programs in gene silencing.

Benitec is developing innovative therapeutics based on its patented gene-silencing technology called ddRNAi.

The company’s ddRNAi-based therapeutics are used for treating chronic and life-threatening conditions including hepatitis B, wet age-related macular degeneration and muscular dystrophy.

Furthermore, Benitec has received orphan drug designation in the European Union for its therapy ‘BB-301’ for the treatment of Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD).

OPMD is a rare inherited myopathy characterised by dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), the loss of muscle strength, and weakness in multiple parts of the body.

The orphan drug designation provides regulatory and financial incentives for companies to develop and market therapies that treat a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition.

BB-301 is currently in preclinical development and Benitec plans to initiate IND (investigational new drug)-enabling studies later this year.

Benitec’s share price has increased by circa 45% since the beginning of this year, last trading at $0.16.

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