Drugs
Benitec Biopharma (BNTC) Down Under issued a 9-mo report to the end of March and it is pretty rotten. You know that the Australian startup sacked its CEO after a botch Nasdaq listing last year, and that in Feb. BNTC started to wind down its major drug trial for hepatitis C. Now we also know that is revenues fell 41% year/year in the 9 mos to A$385,000 and its losses topped A$18.5 mn. The tangible net asset value of its shares fell to 17 cents Australian from 20.16 cents as of mid-year 2015. The EPS over the same period fell to minus 13.2 Oz cents from minus 5.4 cents.
BNTC is switching its hepatitis work to the B strain because C is now over-medicated. It aims to develop a single jab treatment called BB-HB-331 currently under study in mice infected with HBV liver cells and hopes to file an investigational new drug application in H2 next year.
It also is working on age-related macular degeneration with 4D Molecular Therapeutics (of Emeryville, CA) using its ddRNAi platform (DNA directed RNA interference). It is also working in other gene therapy including chimeric antigen receipt T cells (CAR-T) to knock out and replace mutant genes in oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy caused by a known protein, PABPNa.
It is also working on Huntington’s Disease, with a Dutch licensee, uniQure biopharma targeting three genes which play a role in the fatal genetic disease.
In addition, its license, Genable Tech Ltd, won European Medicine Agency and US orphan drug designation for a ddRNA1 silencing of the RHO gene mutation causing retinitis pigmentosa, called “RhoNovaâ€. The Dutch firm has now been acquired by Spark Therapeutics (of Philadelphia).
Lastly, BNTC is working with another US firm, Circuit Therapeutics, to develop ddRNAi for pain prevention by silencing a sodium ion channel, Nav1.7, which triggers certain nerves.
All in all the science sounds good (at least to a layperson) but the lack of a top manager and the money for research makes Benitec a troubled investment.