Biotech, deals, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

AVI Gets Duchenne Funding

Luke Timmerman 7/28/09

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 Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.