Benitec Limited announced that a key patent 'Control of Gene Expression' part of the Graham patent family of RNA interference (RNAi) patents was granted in New Zealand. The "Control of Gene Expression patent" is a patent in the foundational Graham RNAi patent family and is related to the '099 patent currently under re-examination at the USPTO.

"We are delighted that the New Zealand patent office has recognized the importance of these patent claims and accepted this important patent. This patent has broad coverage and leverage in the field of RNAi therapeutics. We have already licensed this patent family for use in reagent products already on the market, research use and non-exclusively for pre-clinical and clinical development of a Hepatitis C therapeutic construct. We will continue to evaluate further licensing opportunities," said Sue MacLeman, chief executive officer, Benitec Ltd.

"Benitec assigned this patent family to CSIRO in 2006 however retains a worldwide non revocable right to the human field, including human therapeutics, reagent and research use" she added.

The New Zealand patent number is 547283. Inventors include Dr Michael Graham, Dr Robert Rice, Dr Peter Waterhouse and Dr Ming Bo Wang.

Benitec is an Australian biotechnology company focused on licensing its extensive intellectual property portfolio and developing therapeutics to treat serious diseases using its proprietary ddRNAi technology.