SYDNEY, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Benitec Biopharma Limited (ASX: BLT; NASDAQ: BNTC; NASDAQ: BNTCW) has today announced that Dr. Peter French will step down as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Company. Mr. Greg West, Benitec's Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer.
Benitec's Board has commenced a global search for a new CEO and it is intended that the new CEO will be based in the United States. This is in line with the Company's goal to establish a stronger profile and management team in the United States, following its NASDAQ listing in August 2015 and establishment of the Bremner Laboratory in San Francisco, California, in September 2014.
Benitec's Chairman, Mr. Peter Francis, said, "Over the past five years, Dr. Peter French's leadership has been instrumental in Benitec's transformation from a company that had limited resources and no clinical programs, to become a clinical stage company, with a valuable development pipeline and a solid cash position. The Board and Management wish Dr. French all the best for the future and we sincerely thank him for his outstanding contribution to Benitec's growth. The Board will work closely with Mr. West until a new CEO is appointed, and we look forward to updating our shareholders as we move forward with the transition."
About Benitec Biopharma Limited:
Benitec Biopharma Limited (ASX: BLT; NASDAQ: BNTC; NASDAQ: BNTCW) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics based on its patented gene-silencing technology called ddRNAi or 'expressed RNAi'. Based in Sydney, Australia with labs in Hayward, CA (USA) and collaborators and licensees around the world, the company is developing ddRNAi-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions including hepatitis C and B, wet age-related macular degeneration and OPMD. Benitec has also licensed ddRNAi to other biopharmaceutical companies for applications including HIV/AIDS, Huntington's Disease, chronic neuropathic pain and retinitis pigmentosa. For further information regarding Benitec and its activities, please contact the persons below, or visit the Benitec website at www.benitec.com