AVI BioPharma Announces NeuGene Antisense Collaboration With USAMRIID on Biodefense Agents

12-Aug-2004

Portland. AVI BioPharma, Inc. announced it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of infectious diseases (USAMRIID). The five-year agreement provides for testing of AVI's NeuGene® antisense therapeutics against several viruses, bacteria and toxins that may be used as bioterror agents.

"Our previous work with USAMRIID and their experience with our NeuGene compounds led to establishing this formal CRADA relationship to pursue testing and development of our antisense technology against a broad range of potential biodefense infections," said Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and development at AVI. "Our programs will benefit greatly from USAMRIID researchers' experience with these bioterror agents, and working with USAMRIID will strengthen our pursuit of effective therapeutics in this area."

AVI believes its NeuGene antisense "rapid response therapeutics" have a significant role to play in the future of antiviral therapeutics. NeuGeneS are synthetic compounds that mirror a critical portion of a disease-causing organism's genetic code and bind to specific portions of the target genetic sequence. Like a key in a lock, NeuGene antisense compounds are designed to match up precisely with a specific gene or viral sequence, blocking the function of the target gene or virus.

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