AVI BioPharma, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results and Corporate Update Conference Call

BOTHELL, WA--(Marketwire - February 23, 2012) - AVI BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVII), a developer of RNA-based therapeutics, will report fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results after the NASDAQ Global Market closes on Thursday, March 1, 2012. Subsequently, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time (2:00 p.m., Pacific Time), Chris Garabedian, AVI’s president and CEO, will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results and to provide a corporate update.

The conference call may be accessed by dialing 866.510.0676 for domestic callers and 617.597.5361 for international callers. The passcode for the call is 79552457. Please specify to the operator that you would like to join the “AVI BioPharma fourth quarter and full year 2011 earnings call.” The conference call will be webcast live under the events section of AVI’s website at www.avibio.com and will be archived there following the call for 90 days. Please connect to AVI’s website several minutes prior to the start of the broadcast to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About AVI BioPharma

AVI BioPharma is focused on the discovery and development of novel RNA-based therapeutics for rare and infectious diseases, as well as other select disease targets. Applying pioneering technologies developed and optimized by AVI, the Company is able to target a broad range of diseases and disorders through distinct RNA-based mechanisms of action. Unlike other RNA-based approaches, AVI’s technologies can be used to directly target both messenger RNA (mRNA) and precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) to either down-regulate (inhibit) or up-regulate (promote) the expression of targeted genes or proteins. By leveraging a highly differentiated RNA-based technology platform, AVI has built a pipeline of potentially transformative therapeutic agents, including eteplirsen, which is in clinical development for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and multiple drug candidates that are in clinical development for the treatment of infectious diseases. For more information, visit 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 preclinical 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.