Benitec Biopharma Announces Appointment of Sharon Mates Ph.D. to its Board of Directors
Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ: BNTC) appointed Dr. Sharon Mates to its board of directors, effective November 2, 2025. Dr. Mates previously co-founded and served as CEO and chairman of Intra‑Cellular Therapies from 2002 until its ~$14.6 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2025. She led development efforts that included FDA approval of CAPLYTA in 2019. Benitec said her experience will support progression of its BB‑301 OPMD program and broader development of its ddRNAi platform.
Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ: BNTC) ha nominato la Dott.ssa Sharon Mates al consiglio di amministrazione, con effetto 2 novembre 2025. La Dott.ssa Mates in passato ha co-fondato e ricoperto il ruolo di CEO e presidente di Intra‑Cellular Therapies dal 2002 fino alla sua acquisizione da ~14,6 miliardi di dollari da parte di Johnson & Johnson nel 2025. Ha guidato i programmi di sviluppo che hanno incluso l'approvazione FDA di CAPLYTA nel 2019. Benitec ha detto che la sua esperienza sosterrà la progressione del suo programma BB‑301 OPMD e lo sviluppo più ampio della sua piattaforma ddRNAi.
Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ: BNTC) nombró a la Dra. Sharon Mates para su junta directiva, con efecto a partir del 2 de noviembre de 2025. La Dra. Mates previamente cofundó y se desempeñó como CEO y presidenta de Intra‑Cellular Therapies desde 2002 hasta su adquisición por ~14,6 mil millones de dólares por parte de Johnson & Johnson en 2025. Lideró esfuerzos de desarrollo que incluyeron la aprobación de la FDA de CAPLYTA en 2019. Benitec dijo que su experiencia apoyará la progresión de su programa BB‑301 OPMD y el desarrollo más amplio de su plataforma ddRNAi.
벤이트크 바이오파마(BENITEK Biopharma, NASDAQ: BNTC)가 이사회에 샤론 메이츠 박사를 임명했으며, 적용일은 2025년 11월 2일입니다. 메이츠 박사는 2002년부터 Intra‑Cellular Therapies의 공동 설립자이자 CEO 및 회장을 역임했고, 존슨 앤 존슨이 2025년 인수로 마무리한 약 146억 달러 규모의 인수로 마무리되었습니다. 그녀는 2019년 FDA 승인 등을 포함한 개발 노력을 이끌었습니다. CAPLYTA. 벤이트크는 그녀의 경험이 BB‑301 OPMD 프로그램의 진행과 ddRNAi 플랫폼의 광범위한 개발을 지원할 것이라고 밝혔습니다.
Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ: BNTC) a nommé Dr. Sharon Mates au conseil d'administration, à compter du 2 novembre 2025. Le Dr Mates a précédemment cofonda et a été CEO et président d'Intra‑Cellular Therapies de 2002 jusqu'à son acquisition d'environ 14,6 milliards de dollars par Johnson & Johnson en 2025. Elle a dirigé des efforts de développement qui ont inclus l'approbation par la FDA de CAPLYTA en 2019. Benitec a déclaré que son expérience soutiendra l'avancement de son programme BB‑301 OPMD et le développement plus large de sa plateforme ddRNAi.
Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ: BNTC) hat Dr. Sharon Mates in den Vorstand berufen, wirksam zum 2. November 2025. Dr. Mates hat zuvor Intra‑Cellular Therapies mit gegründet und war von 2002 bis zur ca. 14,6 Milliarden USD schweren Übernahme durch Johnson & Johnson im Jahr 2025 CEO und Vorsitzende. Sie leitete Entwicklungsbemühungen, zu denen die FDA‑Zulassung von CAPLYTA im Jahr 2019 gehörte. Benitec sagte, ihre Erfahrung werde die Weiterentwicklung seines BB‑301 OPMD-Programms und die breitere Entwicklung seiner ddRNAi-Plattform unterstützen.
بنيتك بيوفارما (ناسداك: BNTC) عينت الدكتورة شيرون ميتس في مجلس إدارتها، اعتبارًا من 2 نوفمبر 2025. سبق للدكتورة ميتس أن شاركت في تأسيس Intra‑Cellular Therapies وشغلت منصب المدير التنفيذي ورئيس المجلس من 2002 حتى عملية استحواذها التي بلغت حوالي 14.6 مليار دولار من قبل Johnson & Johnson في 2025. قادت جهود التطوير التي شملت موافقة FDA على CAPLYTA في 2019. وقالت Benitec إن خبرتها ستدعم تقدم برنامجها BB‑301 OPMD وكذلك التطوير الأوسع لمنصتها ddRNAi.
- Board appointment effective Nov 2, 2025
- Director led company acquired for ~$14.6B in 2025
- Experience with FDA approval: CAPLYTA approved in 2019
- None.
-Dr. Mates served as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Intra-Cellular Therapies, a mental health company, from June 2002 until it was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2025-
HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Benitec Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: BNTC) (“Benitec” or “Company”), a clinical-stage, gene therapy-focused, biotechnology company developing novel genetic medicines based on its proprietary “Silence and Replace” DNA-directed RNA interference (“ddRNAi”) platform, today announces the appointment of Dr. Sharon Mates to the board of directors (BOD) of the Company, effective November 2, 2025.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Sharon Mates to Benitec’s Board of Directors,” said Jerel Banks, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benitec Biopharma. “Dr. Mates brings exceptional leadership experience in building successful biotechnology companies and advancing innovative therapies from discovery through commercialization. Her extensive track record of building value in the biotechnology sector will be invaluable as we continue progressing our BB-301 program in Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) towards regulatory approval and expanding the potential of our ddRNAi therapy platform into other therapeutic indications.”
“I am pleased to join the Board of Directors at Benitec Biopharma during this critical period in the Company’s evolution,” said Dr. Sharon Mates. “Benitec’s innovative silence and replace platform holds tremendous potential, and BB-301 represents the potential first of its kind gene therapy for addressing a serious unmet medical need. I look forward to working with the Board and the dedicated management team to contribute to Benitec’s mission of delivering transformative treatments to patients while creating value for its shareholders.”
Dr. Sharon Mates served as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (ITI) from June 2002 until its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Intra-Cellular Therapies focused on developing medicines for mental health disorders like bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia and received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its novel antipsychotic CAPLYTA® in 2019 prior to its 2025 acquisition for approximately
About BB-301
BB-301 is a novel, modified AAV9 capsid expressing a unique, single bifunctional construct promoting co-expression of both codon-optimized Poly-A Binding Protein Nuclear-1 (PABPN1) and two small inhibitory RNAs (siRNAs) against mutant PABPN1. The two siRNAs are modeled into microRNA backbones to silence expression of faulty mutant PABPN1, while allowing expression of the codon-optimized PABPN1 to replace the mutant with a functional version of the protein. We believe the silence and replace mechanism of BB-301 is uniquely positioned for the treatment of OPMD by halting mutant expression while providing a functional replacement protein.
About Benitec Biopharma, Inc.
Benitec Biopharma Inc. (“Benitec” or the “Company”) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the advancement of novel genetic medicines with headquarters in Hayward, California. The proprietary “Silence and Replace” DNA-directed RNA interference platform combines RNA interference, or RNAi, with gene therapy to create medicines that simultaneously facilitate sustained silencing of disease-causing genes and concomitant delivery of wildtype replacement genes following a single administration of the therapeutic construct. The Company is developing Silence and Replace-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions including Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD).
A comprehensive overview of the Company can be found on Benitec’s website at www.benitec.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for the historical information set forth herein, the matters set forth in this press release include forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Benitec’s plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates and the clinical utility and potential attributes and benefits of ddRNAi and Benitec’s product candidates, and other forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including unanticipated developments in and risks related to: the success of our plans to develop and potentially commercialize our product candidates; the timing of the completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials; the timing and sufficiency of patient enrollment and dosing in any future clinical trials; the timing of the availability of data from our clinical trials; the timing and outcome of regulatory filings and approvals; the development of novel AAV vectors; our potential future out-licenses and collaborations; the plans of licensees of our technology; the clinical utility and potential attributes and benefits of ddRNAi and our product candidates, including the potential duration of treatment effects and the potential for a “one shot” cure; our intellectual property position and the duration of our patent portfolio; expenses, ongoing losses, future revenue, capital needs and needs for additional financing, and our ability to access additional financing given market conditions and other factors; the length of time over which we expect our cash and cash equivalents to be sufficient to execute on our business plan; unanticipated delays; further research and development and the results of clinical trials possibly being unsuccessful or insufficient to meet applicable regulatory standards or warrant continued development; the ability to enroll sufficient numbers of subjects in clinical trials; determinations made by the FDA and other governmental authorities and other regulatory developments; the Company’s ability to protect and enforce its patents and other intellectual property rights; the Company’s dependence on its relationships with its collaboration partners and other third parties; the efficacy or safety of the Company’s products and the products of the Company’s collaboration partners; the acceptance of the Company’s products and the products of the Company’s collaboration partners in the marketplace; market competition; sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution requirements; greater than expected expenses; expenses relating to litigation or strategic activities; the impact of, and our ability to remediate, the identified material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting, the impact of local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Investor Relations Contact:
Irina Koffler
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
(917) 734-7387
ikoffler@lifesciadvisors.com
FAQ
Who is Sharon Mates and when did Benitec (BNTC) appoint her to the board?
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