Appointment of Mr. Kevin Buchi to Benitec Board

SYDNEY, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Benitec Biopharma Ltd (ASX: BLT), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics based on its gene silencing technology, DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi), is very pleased to report that Mr. Kevin Buchi, CPA, has accepted an invitation to join the Company's Board of Directors. 

Mr. Buchi served as Chief Executive Officer of Cephalon, Inc. through its $6.8 billion acquisition by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in October 2011. After the acquisition Mr. Buchi served as Corporate Vice President, Global Branded Products of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Buchi joined Cephalon in 1991 and held various positions, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development prior to being appointed CEO.

Mr. Buchi currently serves on the Board of Directors of Stemline Therapeutics, Inc., Forward Pharma A/S and Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Buchi has served on the Board of Directors of Lorus Therapeutics (Canada), Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Mesoblast Limited (Australia). Mr. Buchi has served as a Member of the Life Sciences Advisory Board at Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.

Mr. Buchi originally trained as a synthetic organic chemist for the Eastman Kodak Company graduating from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry. He holds a Master's degree in management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He resides in Pennsylvania in the United States.

Benitec Biopharma's Chairman, Mr. Peter Francis, welcomed Mr Buchi's appointment. "Kevin's impressive track record in the international biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry over 30 years provides Benitec with significant additional business development strength, and importantly, networking capacity in the United States and Europe. The Directors and Management look forward to working closely with Kevin to achieve the Company's aims through industry partnerships. We see this as a validation of Benitec's corporate strategy over the past few years."

Mr. Buchi commented, "I continue to be impressed with Benitec's programs and progress. The expected entry of the Company's Hepatitis C therapy into the clinic later this year is validation of that progress.  I believe that Benitec Biopharma's technology and programs have the potential to bring about a revolution in treatment of many diseases and conditions through the power of DNA-directed RNA interference. I look forward to working with the Company to help advance its exciting programs and vision."

For more information please contact:
Dr. Peter French | Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +61 (02) 9555 6986 | [email protected] | www.benitec.com

About Benitec Biopharma Limited:
Benitec Biopharma Limited is an ASX-listed biotechnology company (ASX Code: BLT) based in Sydney, Australia. The company has a pipeline of in-house and partnered therapeutic programs based on its patented gene-silencing technology, ddRNAi. Benitec is developing treatments for chronic and life-threatening human conditions such as Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, wet age-related macular degeneration, cancer-associated pain, drug resistant lung cancer and oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy based on this technology. In addition, Benitec has licensed ddRNAi technology to other biopharmaceutical companies who are progressing their programs towards the clinic for applications including HIV/AIDS, retinitis pigmentosa and Huntington's disease. For more information on Benitec refer to the Company's website at www.benitec.com.

SOURCE Benitec Biopharma Limited

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