Benitec Announces First ddRNAi Therapeutic License With Revivicor & the Allowance of its Canadian Patent

11-Oct-2004

Benitec is pleased to announce the granting of its first therapeutic license to Revivicor, Inc (Virginia, USA). Benitec's ddRNAi technology will be used in Revivicor's pioneering work in the field of regenerative medicine; being the Replacement of human cells, tissues and organs. ddRNAi will be used specifically to downregulate genes in transgenic pigs, supplying tissues and organs for grafting and transplantation in humans, called Xenotransplantation. ddRNAi has been chosen by Revivicor as the most appropriate RNAi technology for this project and is being used in combination with a range of Revivicor's proprietary technology. The Company has already commenced pre-clinical trials.

Under this non-exclusive license agreement, Benitec will receive upfront and annual maintenance fees, a milestone payment upon FDA approval and on-going royalty payments upon commercialisation. Further financial terms were not disclosed.

John McKinley, Benitec's CEO, stated "The use of ddRNAi in Revivicor's regenerative medicine program is a milestone achievement for us. This program recognises the long-term capability of ddRNAi as an important therapeutic tool, whilst our recently announced HCV and HIV programs will pioneer the development of ddRNAi as a therapeutic agent in itself. With our increasing issued patent estate, we will continue our strategy of licensing our proprietary ddRNAi technology for both research and therapeutic development, ensuring the widest access to, and usage of, this important technology."

Revivicor, Inc is a private company formed specifically to address the field of regenerative medicine, with facilities in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Its partners include the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (UPMC) Health System. The Company was formed as a spin-out of PPL Therapeutics' division in Virginia, USA and the technology and patents were acquired by Revivicor in 2003. The Company's focus is the commercialisation of treatments for diabetes and whole organ transplantation, developed from its core competencies in xenografts and tolerance technologies. In

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