AVI BioPharma to Testify at House Energy and Commerce SARS Hearing
PORTLAND, Ore. - May 6, 2003 - AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII, AVIIW, AVIIZ), announced today that CEO Denis R. Burger, Ph.D., will testify Wednesday, May 7, before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding the company's drug development efforts addressing the coronavirus implicated in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The hearing, titled SARS: Assessment, Outlook and Lessons Learned, will cover government response, public health issues and commercial drug development initiatives targeting the SARS outbreak.
A live webcast of the hearing, which begins at 2 p.m. EDT, will be available at the The House Committee on Energy and Commerce website.
A transcript of the hearing will be available approximately 60-90 days following the hearing.
Dr. Burger will provide information to the committee about AVI's rapid response NeuGene® antisense platform. AVI developed an experimental SARS antisense compound within 10 days of receiving the genetic sequence of the virus from several sources including the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization (WHO) laboratories. The NeuGene compound was synthesized and purified in the company's Corvallis, Ore., research facility, and sent to both the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a division of the National Institutes of Health, and to an overseas WHO laboratory for preclinical evaluation last week.
AVI's antiviral research program has produced NeuGene antisense drugs active in preclinical testing against a group of RNA viruses, including West Nile virus, hepatitis C virus, Calicivirus and murine hepatitis virus, a coronavirus. Due to their simple genetic structure, single-stranded RNA viruses have proven to be attractive targets for NeuGeneS.
About AVI BioPharma
AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using two technology platforms: NeuGene antisense drugs and cancer immunotherapy. Its lead cancer agent, Avicine, a therapeutic cancer vaccine, has completed three Phase II trials in colorectal and pancreatic cancer and the company plans to initiate a Phase III pivotal trial in pancreatic cancer, with a supporting study in colorectal cancer. The first application of its NeuGene compounds, Resten-NG is designed to treat cancer, cardiovascular restenosis and other cell proliferation disorders by inhibiting the production of a cellular transcription factor, the oncogene c-myc. The company is in a Phase II trial for restenosis and in a Phase Ib trial for cancer. AVI has completed four Phase I NeuGene antisense studies that successfully down-regulated the liver enzyme cytochrome P-450 and modified drug metabolism, and a Phase Ib trial in polycystic kidney disease. More information about AVI is available on the company's Web site at www.avibio.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements that are not historical facts contained in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of research and development efforts, the results of preclinical and clinical testing, the effect of regulation by the FDA and other agencies, the impact of competitive products, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.