AVI BioPharma to Receive Two Grants to Fund Promising NeuGene Kidney and Cardiovascular Disease Applications.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BW HealthWire)--June 27, 2000

AVI BioPharma (Nasdaq:AVII) (Nasdaq:AVIIW, AVIIZ) announced today that it received notice of two grants, totaling in excess of $850,000, to conduct studies in two promising applications of the Company's NeuGene(R) antisense program: cardiovascular disease and polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

The first grant, a Phase II award from the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR), is titled "Therapeutic Applications of Microbubbles-Phase II." It seeks follow-on data from a Phase I grant in the previous year for using microbubbles to bind and deliver AVI's proprietary NeuGene antisense compounds. This study evaluates the impact of the NeuGene/microbubble delivery system on restenosis following stent deployment, and evaluates its impact on recanalizing renal dialysis grafts. Studies under this grant will be performed under the guidance of Principal Investigator Thomas Porter, MD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The second grant, a Phase I award from the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), is titled "Inhibition of c-myc to Treat Polycystic Kidney Disease," and is targeted toward developing a NeuGene antisense drug therapy to be used for PKD patients.

PKD is the most common inherited disease in humans. It causes the kidney to grow abnormally large and fill with many cysts, often leading to kidney failure.

University of Indiana's Vincent Gattone, Ph.D., co-investigator on the study, commented, "Results of our preliminary tests in a mouse model of human infantile polycystic kidney disease showed that AVI's NeuGenes significantly reduced the number and size of the cysts and improved kidney function without adverse effects on body growth or blood formation. Receipt of this grant enables us to take our research a step further to investigate additional PKD targets, and to investigate optimal routes of administration."

"We are truly honored to receive recognition from the STTR and SBIR programs of the potential for a new class of genome-based therapeutics shown by our proprietary NeuGene antisense agents," stated Denis R. Burger, Ph.D., AVI's Chief Executive Officer. "These grants enable us to demonstrate what we believe is the unparalleled breadth of our NeuGene antisense program."

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, 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 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 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 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.