AVI Nabs $11.5M Defense Contract

Luke Timmerman10/5/09

AVI Biopharma, the Bothell, WA-based developer of RNA-based therapies, said today it has won an expanded $11.5 million contract from the U.S. Defense Department to develop its drug candidate for Junin virus infection. The new contract means AVI has received $45 million in combined contracts to develop treatments for Ebola, Marburg, and now Junin viral infections. AVI (NASDAQ: AVII) said the cash comes from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative for a therapy called AVI-7012. Shares of AVI climbed 28 percent to $2.01 at 9:46 am Eastern time on the news.

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.