Ambion Licenses ddRNAi as Part of Infringement Settlement with Benitec

NEW YORK, August 11 (GenomeWeb News) - Benitec today said that it has settled a patent infringement case against Ambion, and that Ambion has taken a world-wide nonexclusive license to make and sell ddRNAi (DNA-directed RNAi) -based products as part of the settlement agreement.

Benitec said that the settlement "completely resolves all claims and counterclaims" asserted in a patent infringement dispute that began when the company filed suit against Ambion in March. 

Financial details of Ambion's licensing agreement were not disclosed.

Benitec has also accused two other firms -- Nucleonics and Genscript -- of infringing Benitec's ddRNAi patent, US Patent No. 6,573,099, entitled "Genetic Constructs for Delaying or Repressing the Expression of a Target Gene." Benitec did not provide information on the status of these lawsuits.  

Benitec currently holds seven issued patents in five jurisdictions, including the US, UK, and Australia, covering RNAi in mammalian cells. The company said that an additional 65 RNAi-based patent applications are in "advanced stages of prosecution" in 14 other jurisdictions.