AVI Biopharma Obtains 16 Patents From the University of Nebraska in the Fields of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease.PORTLAND, Ore.--(BW HealthWire)--August 13, 1998-- 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. Annual Meeting to be Held on August 31, 1998 AVI BIOPHARMA ("AVI")(Nasdaq: AVII, AVIIW), formerly known as AntiVirals Inc., today announced that it has completed an agreement for the exclusive worldwide licensing of nine issued patents, six pending patent applications and one provisional patent application from the University of Nebraska Medical Center In 1991, a technology transfer office was created known as UNeMed. In 1997, the UNMC hospital merged with the nearby hospital operated by Clarkson College to become what was later renamed The Nebraska Medical Center. . The patents cover applications in the fields of cardiovascular disease and cancer. This basket of technology includes one issued patent and one provisional patent application describing the use of telomere telomere /telo·mere/ (tel´o-mer) an extremity of a chromosome, which has specific properties, one of which is a polarity that prevents reunion with any fragment after a chromosome has been broken. mimics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Telomeres are DNA sequences on the ends of chromosomes that define the age of a cell. Cancer cells are ageless or immortal due to their ability to reset the telomere-aging clock. This synthetic oligonucleotide strategy interferes with the system of communication between the telomere and the aging process in cancer cells, resulting in rapid and selective cancer cell death. The telomere communication system may also be involved in a variety of chronic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Another technology acquired from the University of Nebraska is an ultrasound contrast agent composed of perfluorobutane microbubbles coated with a filmogenic albumin protein. Three issued patents cover the manufacture, composition and use of these microbubble mi·cro·bub·ble n. An extremely small bubble, usually only a few hundred micrometers in diameter, that can be uniformly suspended in a liquid such as blood. contrast agents, which have been assessed in a number of human subjects for the evaluation of coronary blood flow. The technology represents a less expensive clinical approach to measuring the extent of injury to the heart following a heart attack. Four pending patent applications utilize these microbubbles for the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents including the AVI BioPharma 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). oligonucleotides. The microbubbles carry the drugs in the blood and are delivered to tissues and organs when they pass through the ultrasound field during diagnostic ultrasound. Furthermore, the microbubble contrast agents represent a powerful approach to targeted drug delivery Scientists began to study targeted drug delivery, because the traditional drug delivery system had many disadvantages, such as high toxic effect and high minimum effective dose. In traditional drug delivery system, after the patient takes some drugs, the drugs will be all over his body . Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Burger, Ph.D., President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of AVI BioPharma, stated, "This basket of innovative technologies certainly complements AVI's plan to use its proprietary antisense platform, NEUGENES(R), for the treatment of coronary heart disease coronary heart disease: see coronary artery disease. coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease Progressive reduction of blood supply to the heart muscle due to narrowing or blocking of a coronary artery (see atherosclerosis). and cancer. Clearly, AVI is committed to guiding the company's later-stage products through the development process. While we remain focused on our lead therapeutic cancer vaccine, Avicine(tm), about to enter Phase III trials in colorectal cancer, we continue to build upon our product portfolio with technologies in our stated focus areas: cancer and cardiovascular disease. "On a separate note, we are looking forward to our Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and to the closing of our acquisition of ImmunoTherapy Corporation," concluded Dr. Burger. The Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held at The Marriott Hotel in Portland, Oregon on Monday, August 31 at 10:00 a.m. AVI BioPharma, formerly known as AntiVirals Inc., is dedicated to the development and commercialization of products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases. In the antisense field, the company has developed a patented class of gene targeted drugs, called NEUGENES, which may be useful in the treatment of a wide range of human diseases including cancer and restenosis, a cardiovascular disease. The company has also developed a drug delivery technology, called CYTOPORTER(tm), which may be useful in improving delivery of many FDA-approved drugs, drugs in development, and antisense compounds. In February 1998, AVI BioPharma and ImmunoTherapy Corporation (ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → ) entered into an agreement whereby AVI will acquire ITC. The acquisition has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is pending AVI and ITC shareholder approval. "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.
CONTACT: Denis R. Burger, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Alan P. Timmins
COO & CFO
(503) 227-0554
or
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Olga M. Fleming/Sue L. Yeoh
CPR Financial Communications, LLC
(201) 641-2408
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion