AVI BioPharma Announces Positive Pre-Clinical Study Results Presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology.PORTLAND, Ore. -- AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII), announced today the results of five pre-clinical studies using NEUGENE([R]) antisense against a variety of viral diseases. The results were discussed this week at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology virology, study of viruses and their role in disease. Many viruses, such as animal RNA viruses and viruses that infect bacteria, or bacteriophages, have become useful laboratory tools in genetic studies and in work on the cellular metabolic control of gene expression at Oregon State University Oregon State University, at Corvallis; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1858 as Corvallis College, opened 1865. In 1868 it was designated Oregon's land-grant agricultural college and was taken over completely by the state in 1885. (OSU (Open Source UNIX) Refers to the Unix variants that are maintained as open source, which were primarily BSD Unix and Linux until Sun made its Solaris operating system open source in 2005. ) in Corvallis, Ore, July 14-18, 2007. "Our infectious disease program encompasses research collaborations with investigators worldwide on more than 50 different viruses, nearly all the viral families known to cause disease in humans," said Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and development at 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. . "Studies like these continue to advance our knowledge of how NEUGENE agents may be used against a variety of viruses, and how we may continue to make them even more effective inhibitors of disease. Activity in these early stage models permits us to select from the most promising candidates for the eventual development of potential clinical leads." The following are short summaries of presentations by AVI BioPharma and collaborators. More information and article abstracts can be obtained at the OSU Web site http://oregonstate.edu/conferences/asv2007. Workshop Presentations Inhibition of measles virus (MV) by antisense morpholino oligomers There are currently no antivirals available for the treatment of measles. The most promising NEUGENE produced a 2 log decrease in viral titer in plaque assays. This same NEUGENE was found to significantly inhibit replication of measles virus in cell culture. Antiviral effects of antisense morpholino oligomers in murine hepatic and pulmonary coronavirus infection models The results showed a strong antiviral effect against a Coronavirus, Murine Hepatitis Virus, in several mouse models. With further development, these results suggest this NEUGENE agent may become an effective therapeutic against a broad range of coronavirus infections. Treatment of AG129 mice with antisense morpholino oligomers increases survival times following challenge with dengue dengue or breakbone fever or dandy fever Infectious, disabling mosquito-borne fever. Other symptoms include extreme joint pain and stiffness, intense pain behind the eyes, a return of fever after brief pause, and a characteristic rash. 2 virus The NEUGENE used in this study demonstrated considerable antiviral efficacy against the dengue 2 virus in the AG129 mouse model. These results suggest that early NEUGENE treatment may be critical to extending survival times. Poster Presentations Peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers inhibit alphavirus replication and prevent lethal encephalitis in VEEV-infected mice In this study a NEUGENE agent achieved inhibition in cell culture against both the Sindbis virus and a variety of VEE (Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis an encephalomyelitis with clinical signs similar to those of western and eastern encephalomyelitis; abbreviated VEE. See also equine viral encephalomyelitis. ) virus, a potential bioterror agent. The NEUGENE agent also prevented lethal encephalitis in a VEEV mouse model. Inhibition of Influenza A virus replication in mice with a "NEU NEU Neutral NEU Northeastern University (Boston, MA, USA) NEU Near East University (North Cyprus, Turkey) NEU Northeast University (China) " drug. AVI antisense compounds in seven-week-old BalbC mice infected with H3N8 A/Eq/Miami/63 virus The results of this influenza A study showed at least a 1.3 log reduction in virus growth in mice, a 1.25 point reduction in illness score and a trend for reduced weight loss when compared with untreated mice. About AVI BioPharma AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using third-generation NEUGENE antisense drugs and ESPRIT exon skipping technology. AVI's lead NEUGENE antisense compound is designed to target cell proliferation disorders, including cardiovascular restenosis. In addition to targeting specific genes in the body, AVI's antiviral program uses NEUGENE antisense compounds to combat disease by targeting single-stranded RNA viruses, including West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. , hepatitis C virus
The most severe form of muscular dystrophy, DMD usually affects young boys and causes progressive muscle weakness, usually beginning in the legs. . 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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