AVI BioPharma Reports Continued Success in Preclinical Antiviral Efforts; Positive Results From Five Collaborations Presented at the International Congress of Virology.PORTLAND, Ore. -- AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII), today announced the presentation of positive results from five collaborative projects using NEUGENE(R) antisense drugs at the International Congress of Virology, held in San Francisco July 23-28. "These studies demonstrate the potential for our antisense drug technology against a multitude of viral pathogens," said Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and development at AVI. "These projects explore the fundamental mechanisms by which our NEUGENE antisense drugs can reduce or eliminate viral infections that can cause diseases such as dengue fever, SARS and even the common cold. The information we have gleaned from these collaborative studies will help inform our continued clinical development of drugs for diseases such as hepatitis C and 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. ." The first presentation is titled "In Vitro Antiviral Activities of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers Targeting Human Rhino Virus 14 Replication and Translational Control Elements." Dr. Rene Rijnbrand of the University of Texas Medical Branch "UTMB" redirects here. For other system schools, see University of Texas System. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of downtown Houston. (UTMB) in Galveston will discuss how NEUGENE antisense drugs inhibit this virus, which is known to cause a large percentage of the incidences of the common cold. The studies also identified broader potential applications to a larger group of viruses called enteroviruses Enteroviruses Viruses which live in the gastrointestinal tract. Coxsackie viruses, viruses that cause hand-foot-mouth disease, are an enterovirus. Mentioned in: Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease , which infect 10 million to 15 million people in the U.S. each year. The second presentation, also by Dr. Rijnbrand, is called "In Vitro Antiviral Activities of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers Targeting Sindbis Virus." These studies involved the use of NEUGENES to combat Sindbis virus, which is an RNA-containing alphavirus that can cause a wide variety of mosquito-transmitted diseases. Alphaviruses are included in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID NIAID National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ) Category A priority pathogen list. Dr. Katherine Holden from the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal , will present "Translation and RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic Synthesis of Dengue Virus Reporter Replicons Are Inhibited by Antisense Morpholino Oligomers," an expansion of efforts in dengue virus previously performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC). Results in this study corroborated earlier CDC findings, while providing new pathways for targeting NEUGENES against the virus. Two presentations provide updates of previously reported results. One presentation, by Dr. Ramon Flick, also of the UTMB, is titled "Antisense Morpholino Oligomers Directed Against Bunyavirus Genome Segments Inhibit Replication and Proliferation." This presentation described successful studies using NEUGENE antisense drugs designed to inhibit Rift Valley fever Rift Valley fever An arthropod-borne (primarily mosquito), acute, febrile, viral disease of humans and numerous species of animals. Rift Valley fever is caused by a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus in the genus Phlebovirus of the family Bunyaviridae. , a virus on the NIAID Category A priority pathogen list. The second update presentation, by Dr. Benjamin Neuman from The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., is called "Inhibition, Escape and Attenuation of SARS Coronavirus Treated With Antisense Morpholino Oligomers" provides additional coronavirus in vivo efficacy results. About AVI BioPharma AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using third-generation NEUGENE antisense drugs. AVI's lead NEUGENE antisense compound is designed to target cell proliferation disorders, including cardiovascular restenosis, cancer and polycystic kidney disease Polycystic Kidney Disease Definition Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is one of the most common of all life-threatening human genetic disorders. . 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, hepatitis C virus
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