PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII), today announced the receipt of three signed contracts valued at $7.1 million from the Department of Defense for the development of therapeutic drugs against potential bioterrorism agents, using AVI’s NEUGENE® technology. The contracts, including $2.66 million to develop antisense agents to treat Ebola virus infections, $2.66 million to treat Marburg virus infections, and $1.78 million to develop countermeasures for exposure to Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and ricin toxin, were part of a previously announced budget allocation.
