Benitec Biopharma announces first patient dosed in Phase 1b/2a trial for BB-301

Benitec Biopharma announced the first subject has been dosed in the BB-301 Phase 1b/2a Clinical Treatment Study. BB-301 is the Company’s first gene therapy candidate employing the Silence and Replace approach and is being developed for the treatment of Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy-related Dysphagia. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to begin the clinical evaluation of BB-301 and encouraged by the research and development progress made to date. We are deeply appreciative of the unwavering dedication of the clinical research team at our U.S. clinical trial site, our clinical and scientific research advisors in France, and our specialist speech language pathology research advisors in Canada, all of whom have guided the evolution of our understanding of the natural history of OPMD and our implementation of the ideal processes and procedures to facilitate the conduct of the initial clinical evaluation of BB-301,” said Jerel A. Banks, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benitec. “Today we have taken a critical step towards the clinical validation of our Silence and Replace-based approach to the management of genetically defined disorders, and our central goals remain focused on the improvement of the lives of patients suffering from OPMD.”