AVI Awarded Grant From National Cancer Institute to Target Prostate Cancer With NEUGENE Antisense Drugs.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2003 AVI BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII) (Nasdaq:AVIIW) (Nasdaq:AVIIZ), today announced that it had received a $250,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute to target prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. using its proprietary NEUGENE(R) antisense antisense, DNA or RNA manipulated in a laboratory so that its components (nucleotides) form a complementary copy of normal, or "sense," messenger RNA (mRNA; see nucleic acid). drugs. AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) A Windows multimedia video format from Microsoft. It interleaves standard waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to provide reduced animation at 15 fps at 160x120x8 resolution. Audio is 11,025Hz, 8-bit samples. senior scientist Gayathri R. Devi, Ph.D., who heads AVI's cancer and endocrine research effort, will serve as principal investigator and will collaborate with scientists from Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. in Boston. The one-year grant is eligible for continued renewal for up to four years. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death for men in the United States. It is highly dependent on androgen stimulation and is mediated through the androgen receptor for growth and proliferation. For individuals with advanced prostate cancer, androgen ablation remains the most common treatment. Nonetheless, almost all male prostate cancer patients progress to androgen-independent prostate cancer while on hormonal therapy Hormonal therapy Use of hormone medications to inhibit menstruation and relieve the symptoms of endometriosis. Mentioned in: Endometriosis . NEUGENE antisense drugs have been shown to inhibit the stimulation of the androgen receptor in androgen-independent prostate cancer models, thus preventing the growth of prostate cancer while reducing prostate-specific antigen (PSA (Professional Services Automation) An information system designed to organize, track and manage all opportunities, work, resources, costs, revenues and invoices to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce. ) levels. Through this grant, AVI will finish preclinical development for its antisense drug targeting the androgen receptor and move into Phase I clinical testing. "We are excited that the National Cancer Institute recognizes the promise of AVI's antisense approach to treating prostate cancer," Devi said. "With the assistance of our collaborators, we have successfully completed a significant amount of preclinical development on this drug and expect to move into clinical testing when the pharmacokinetic studies and manufacturing processes are completed." 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(R), a therapeutic cancer vaccine, has completed three Phase II trials in colorectal and pancreatic cancer and is initiating a Phase III pivotal trial in pancreatic cancer, with a supporting study in colorectal cancer. The first application of its NEUGENE compounds, Resten-NG(TM), is designed to treat cancer, cardiovascular restenosis and other cell proliferation disorders by inhibiting the production of a cellular transcription factor, the oncogene oncogene Gene that can cause cancer. It is a sequence of DNA that has been altered or mutated from its original form, the proto-oncogene (see mutation). Proto-oncogenes promote the specialization and division of normal cells. c-myc. It is currently in Phase II trials for restenosis and in a Phase I/II trial for cancer. AVI has completed three Phase I NEUGENE antisense studies that successfully down-regulated the liver enzyme cytochrome P450 and modified drug metabolism, and a Phase I/II trial in polycystic kidney disease Polycystic Kidney Disease Definition Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is one of the most common of all life-threatening human genetic disorders. . 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 The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and 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 FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. 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. |
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