AVI BioPharma, Inc. Announces Clinical Development Initiative For Muscular Dystrophy

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII) today announced the initiation of a clinical program for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) using its ESPRIT (Exon Skipping Pre-RNA Interference Technology) exon-skipping technology. The clinical program is based on positive preclinical data amassed over the past two years, including collaborator studies published in the October 2006 issue of Neuromuscular Disorders and the February 2006 issue of Nature Medicine. This new technology application is designed to delete disease-causing gene sequences in patients with certain genetic diseases, including DMD.