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ST. LOUIS, MO, and Taufkirchen, Germany, 24th October 2005 - Benitec Ltd. (ASX: BLT), a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics, and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (Nasdaq: SIAL), a leading supplier of biochemical reagents and kits used in life sciences research, announced today the signing of two major agreements, one in which Sigma acquires an equity stake in Benitec and one in which Benitec grants Sigma a license for the use of Benitec's RNAi technology. Benitec will receive more than US $4.5 million from the equity and licensing transactions, and Sigma will obtain an exclusive license to Benitec's intellectual property in the research reagent market.
Sara Cunningham, Chief Executive
Officer of Benitec Ltd., stated, "These agreements with Sigma further validate
the impact of RNAi on basic and applied life sciences as well as the enormous
market potential of the application of RNAi within traditional drug discovery.
More importantly, they underscore Benitec's position in the RNAi arena and our
strong, proprietary patent portfolio. Sigma is positioned to be a major market
force in RNAi reagents and will be able to fully exploit this aspect of our
intellectual property, while allowing us to focus our efforts on the
development of RNAi as a new class of drugs. Benitec retains all of its
existing rights to human therapeutics and diagnostics including the ability to
enter into commercialization and drug discovery agreements with pharmaceutical
partners.
"We are delighted that Sigma has
chosen to take an equity stake in Benitec, thereby recognizing the value of
the Company and participating in the future success of Benitec."
Shaf Yousaf, President of the
Sigma-Aldrich Research Biotechnology business unit, stated, "Following our
research collaboration with The RNAi Consortium (TRC); our acquisition of
Proligo; and securing licenses to key RNAi intellectual property from MIT,
Alnylam, Oxford BioMedica and now Benitec, Sigma-Aldrich has put in place a
major intellectual property portfolio in RNAi which positions us well for
market leadership in RNAi research reagents. Additionally, the equity stake in
Benitec ensures our ability to capitalize on their know-how and proprietary
technologies to deliver innovative tools and services to the biopharmaceutical
industry."
Supporting Mr. Yousaf's comments
David Smoller, Vice President of R&D and Operations, Sigma-Aldrich Research
Biotechnology, stated, "This significant agreement with Benitec not only
provides us with access to their intellectual property, but also to technology
and know-how that will allow us to accelerate our product development efforts
in RNAi and offer unique products and services that will make the
Sigma-Aldrich RNAi products Best in Class."
In return for an exclusive license
in the research reagent field, Sigma will make an initial payment of US $2.0
million as well as continuing royalties on product sales and sublicensee
revenue. Sigma also receives a license in the research reagent field to
patents co-owned by Benitec and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia for its solely owned commercial
rights to RNAi in "non-human applications," including its use in plants,
animals, and insects.
The US $2.5 million equity
investment will be made in two tranches. Sigma purchased 13,507,118 ordinary
shares of Benitec for US $1.7 million. Following receipt of shareholder
approval, which is anticipated, Sigma will purchase an additional 6,024,132
ordinary shares for $0.8 million. The shares in both tranches will be issued
at the US Dollar equivalent of A$0.17 per share. The shares will rank equally
with existing Benitec ordinary shares. Subject to the conditions of the second
tranche, Sigma is further granted 10,011,643 options to purchase Benitec
stock, exercisable at A$0.32 at any point prior to April 6, 2008.
About Benitec:
Benitec is an international
biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics to treat serious
diseases using its proprietary RNAi technology. Benitec is listed on the
Australian Stock Exchange and has its operations centered in Silicon Valley in
Mountain View, California, USA. Its lead therapeutic programs are for
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Benitec's
RNA-based HIV therapeutic, co-developed with the Center for Biomedicine &
Genetics at the City of Hope in Los Angeles, California, will enter Phase I
clinical trials in early 2006. Benitec's RNAi therapeutic for HCV will enter
clinical trials in late 2006. For additional information, please visit
http://www.benitec.com.
About Sigma-Aldrich:
Sigma-Aldrich is a leading
Life Science and High Technology company. Its
biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and
genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of
disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology
manufacturing. The company has customers in life science companies, university
and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million
scientists and technologists use their products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 35
countries and has over 6,800 employees providing excellent service worldwide
and is committed to accelerating Customers' success through leadership in
Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more
information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at
http://sigma-aldrich.com.
About CSIRO:
CSIRO is the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia and was involved
in the discovery of ddRNAi. CSIRO successfully demonstrated that ddRNAi is a
highly effective gene silencing technology in plants and has licensed the
technology for a number of plant product applications. CSIRO is also active in
transferring the ddRNAi technology to animal production applications. For
additional information about CSIRO's ddRNAi technology, visit
http://www.pi.csiro.au/rnai.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements that reflect the Companies' current expectations
regarding future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected
herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the
Companies' research strategy, the applicability of the discoveries made
therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies and the
uncertainties related to the regulatory process.
Media enquiries in
Europe to Northbank Communications:
Marc Egelhofer, Tel: +44 (0)1260 296505 m.egelhofer@northbankcommunications.com
At Sigma-Aldrich:
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