PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2006--AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII), today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Chiron Corp. granting AVI a nonexclusive license to Chiron’s patents and patent applications for the research, development and commercialization of antisense therapeutics against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Chiron scientists were the first to clone HCV, and the company has been granted more than 100 HCV-related patents.
