AVI BioPharma And Gene Tools Expand License Agreement for Development of Diagnostic Products, Exchange $1 Million.Health/Medical Writers PORTLAND, Ore.--(BW HealthWire)--March 24, 2000 AVI BioPharma (Nasdaq:AVII)(Nasdaq:AVIIW)(Nasdaq:AVIIZ) announced today that it received $1 million and additional undisclosed consideration from Gene Tools LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , in exchange for an exclusive license for the in vitro in vitro /in vi·tro/ (in ve´tro) [L.] within a glass; observable in a test tube; in an artificial environment. in vi·tro adj. In an artificial environment outside a living organism. diagnostic applications of AVI's proprietary third-generation NEUGENE(R) technology. The previous agreement between the companies was non-exclusive. The new license will be a key part of the strategy of Gene Tools to develop a probe diagnostic system based on AVI's technology. Gene Tools, a privately held licensee of NEUGENE research reagents, is controlled by AVI's founder and former Chief Scientific Officer, James Summerton, Ph.D. "We are thrilled that the future of in vitro diagnostic applications for our NEUGENE technology is in the creative and capable hands of Jim Summerton," commented Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. R. Burger, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of 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. . "The outstanding results with our NEUGENE 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). program in the therapeutic arena are due to NEUGENE's superior backbone chemistry. These advantageous properties, not matched by second-generation chemistries, provide significant advantages for the development of diagnostic products as well. Jim's commitment to exploit that aspect of our technology, was important to us in the decision to expand the license to Gene Tools." "A NEUGENE-based diagnostics system can be exploited to overcome the major challenges of speed and sensitivity and thus circumvent the limitations plaguing current probe diagnostic systems in routine clinical applications," stated Dr. Summerton. "With this technology I believe that Gene Tools can create a probe diagnostic system which will be fast, simple, sensitive, and inexpensive enough to capture part of the diagnostics market for infectious diseases." AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using two technology platforms: cancer immunotherapy and gene-targeted drugs. Its lead clinical agent, AVICINE(TM), a therapeutic cancer vaccine, is undergoing a Phase II trial in pancreatic cancer pancreatic cancer Malignant tumour of the pancreas. Risk factors include smoking, a diet high in fat, exposure to certain industrial products, and diseases such as diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatic cancer is more common in men. , and will soon enter a Phase III pivotal trial in colorectal cancer and a Phase II trial in prostate 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 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 has recently completed Phase I trials for restenosis. More information about AVI is available on the Company's website 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 pre-clinical 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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