Benitec Biopharma Receives FDA Clearance of the IND for BB-301 for the Treatment of Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy

Dosing of the first subject with BB-301 is expected in the second half of 2023, following the rollover of subjects currently enrolled in the ongoing Natural History (NH) study

HAYWARD, Calif., June 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: BNTC) (“Benitec” or “Company”), a clinical-stage, gene therapy-focused, biotechnology company developing novel genetic medicines based on its proprietary DNA-directed RNA interference ("ddRNAi") platform, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BB-301, its silence and replace gene therapy for the treatment of Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy-related Dysphagia.

Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) is a chronic, life-threatening genetic disorder affecting approximately 15,000 patients in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Israel. OPMD patients lose the ability to swallow liquids and solids, resulting in chronic malnutrition, aspiration, and fatal episodes of aspiration pneumonia. Currently, there are no approved therapeutic agents for the treatment of OPMD.

“The FDA’s clearance of our IND for BB-301 is a significant milestone for OPMD patients and for Benitec as a Company,” said Jerel A. Banks, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benitec. “The clearance of BB-301 for clinical use represents the first potential treatment for these frequently debilitating and possibly fatal symptoms of OPMD.”

Subjects from Benitec’s ongoing NH study will be eligible for rollover onto the Phase 1b/2a clinical study of BB-301 for the treatment of OPMD-related Dysphagia after 6 months of baseline data collection. Following a 1-day dosing procedure for BB-301, each study subject will be evaluated for the same radiographic and clinical outcome measures as were evaluated during the NH study, including quantitative radiographic swallowing studies to facilitate objective assessments of swallowing safety, swallowing efficiency, and functional performance of the pharyngeal muscles underlying the OPMD-related Dysphagia. Currently, there are 13 subjects enrolled into the NH study, with each subject having the potential to rollover onto the Phase 1b/2a clinical dosing study for BB-301. Interim safety and efficacy data is expected to become available from the BB-301 Phase 1b/2a study approximately every 90 days following the dosing of each subject.