AVI Gets Duchenne Funding
Luke Timmerman7/28/09
AVI Biopharma, the Portland, OR-based developer of RNA-based therapies, said today it has secured $1.2 million in funding over the next year from Action Duchenne, a U.K.-based charity that supports research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The agreement has an option to be extended for additional years, AVI said. The company (NASDAQ: AVII) is developing a drug called AVI-4658, which is supposed to allow patients to produce a functional copy of a protein called dystrophin. The company has tested an injectable version of this drug in boys with the disease, and is now working on a version that can be delivered throughout the body.
Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.
