AVI BioPharma Announces Additions to Board of Directors
PORTLAND, Ore. - March 22, 2004 - AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII), today announced that it will appoint Jack Bowman and John Hodgman to its board of directors.
Mr. Hodgman also will serve as chairman of the Board Audit Committee. Raymond Ruddon, M.D., Ph.D., has also agreed to accept a position on AVI's board, commencing at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Together, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Hodgman and Dr. Ruddon bring extensive biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience to AVI's board.
"AVI will benefit greatly from the long history and proven track records of these three gentlemen, particularly their successful experience in commercializing new therapies," said Denis R. Burger, Ph.D., chief executive officer of AVI. "The combined industry, commercialization, and financial experience of these men will be invaluable to us as we work to move our NeuGene® antisense therapies closer to commercialization."
Mr. Bowman has been chairman and CEO of NeoRx since 2003. Previously he was company group chairman of Johnson &anp; Johnson, with global responsibility for most of the company's pharmaceutical and diagnostic businesses from 1987 until his retirement in 1994. Before joining J&J, Mr. Bowman was president of Lederle Laboratories and corporate executive vice president of American Cyanamid. He currently serves as a director on the boards of Celgene Corp. and Targeted Genetics Corp. Mr. Bowman holds a bachelor of education degree from Western Washington University.
Mr. Hodgman has been president and chief executive officer of Cygnus, Inc., since 1998 and chairman since 1999. He also is currently a director of Immersion Corp. Mr. Hodgman joined Cygnus in 1994 as vice president of finance and chief financial officer. From May 1995 to August 1998, Mr. Hodgman served as president and chief financial officer of Cygnus Diagnostics, during which time he was responsible for all commercialization efforts for the GlucoWatch Biographer, a wearable glucose monitoring device. Before joining Cygnus, Mr. Hodgman served in leadership and financial positions with Central Point Software and ATEQ Corp. Mr. Hodgman holds a bachelor of science degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Utah.
Dr. Ruddon joined Johnson & Johnson in 1997 as corporate director in the Corporate Office of Science and Technology. In addition, Dr. Ruddon served from 2000 to 2004 as corporate vice president and chief scientific officer of J&J. Currently, Dr. Ruddon also serves as adjunct professor of pharmacology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Ruddon earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry, summa cum laude, from the University of Detroit, and he has a Ph.D. in pharmacology and an M.D. from the University of Michigan.
Joseph Rubinfeld, Ph.D., former president and chief executive officer of SuperGen, Inc., has retired from AVI's board of directors, having served for six years. Dr. Rubinfeld will join AVI's scientific advisory board in the area of oncology.
"We're grateful for Dr. Rubinfeld's numerous contributions to our board over the years," said Dr. Burger. "I know we all look forward to continuing to tap his expertise through our scientific advisory board in the years to come."
The proposed new makeup of AVI's board will be in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley requirements relating to board independence.
About AVI BioPharma
AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using two technology platforms: third-generation NeuGene antisense drugs and cancer immunotherapy. AVI's lead NeuGene antisense compound is designed to target cell proliferation disorders, including cardiovascular restenosis, cancer and polycystic kidney disease. In addition to targeting specific genes in the body, AVI's antiviral program uses NeuGene antisense compounds to target single-stranded RNA viruses, including West Nile virus, SARS coronavirus, calicivirus and hepatitis C. AVI's second technology, Avicine®, is a therapeutic cancer vaccine with late-stage trials planned for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. More information about AVI is available on the company's Web site at http://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.