Benitec Limited, which has laboratories in Queensland, Australia was founded in 1997 to develop and commercialise research from Queensland's Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The Company was the first to demonstrate mammalian gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi), inventing a reliable means of triggering the process using DNA constructs. Benitec Ltd is dedicated to developing therapeutics to treat serious diseases and advancing medical research using DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi), a proprietary technology developed to trigger the natural gene silencing process called RNA interference (RNAi).

Benitec, a pioneer and the ddRNAi leader, was the first company to trigger RNAi in human cells and whole mammals. ddRNAi has several valuable applications, including the potential to effectively combat many serious diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, and chronic degenerative viral infections including HIV and Hepatitis C.