Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scott_jiminez who wrote (9977)	1/9/2004 9:21:10 AM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

Agreed - I think it is better to generally keep SARS-specific stuff to the SARS thread. But it's fine to post "overlapping" news to either or both - stuff like this: Press Release Source: AVI BioPharma, Inc. AVI BioPharma Reports Inhibition of SARS Coronavirus With NEUGENE Antisense Drugs Friday January 9, 9:02 am ET Data Presented at the Keystone Symposium on Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases By Collaborators at The Scripps Research Institute PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2004-- AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII - News) today presented confirmatory positive results on the inhibition of the SARS coronavirus using its NEUGENE® antisense drugs. Michael Buchmeier, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, Calif., presented the positive findings at the Keystone Symposium on Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases in the workshop on SARS. The cell culture studies evaluated multiple strategies targeting AVI's proprietary NEUGENE antisense technology for inhibition of the SARS coronavirus. Several of the design strategies produced positive results of at least a tenfold reduction in viral expression. The most effective NEUGENE design strategy interfered with an RNA processing site unique to the SARS class of coronaviruses and resulted in a greater than hundredfold reduction in viral expression. This antisense agent was found to be more than 10 times more potent than any other SARS inhibitor previously reported. "We believe the studies have identified an effective agent for the potential treatment of SARS," said Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D., senior vice president of research and development at AVI. "AVI's SARS and West Nile virus programs demonstrate that NEUGENE antisense technology can respond more quickly than any other drug development technology to produce efficacious agents. Moreover, since these viruses are closely related due to their single-stranded RNA genomes, these studies represent a significant advancement in our understanding of optimal strategies for designing NEUGENE drugs against all RNA viruses." These innovative laboratory studies, conducted at TSRI, demonstrated that NEUGENE antisense drugs were effective via three distinct measurements of SARS infection. NEUGENES prevented the SARS viral infection from killing cells, reduced viral spread among cells, and reduced viral replication as measured by viral titer. These significant inhibitory effects were observed at NEUGENE concentrations that were shown to be completely nontoxic. The results confirm previous efforts achieved internally at AVI. "We now have the ability to produce clinical supplies of our SARS drug to meet the potential re-emergence of SARS if this disease becomes a significant medical or economic concern again this year or in the future," said Denis R. Burger, Ph.D., chief executive officer at AVI. "Although SARS raised serious medical issues last year, experts remain divided on its significance compared with other viral infectious diseases with seemingly far greater worldwide impact. For this reason, AVI is currently focusing its clinical antiviral program going forward on the acknowledged most prominent viral diseases including hepatitis C infection and dengue fever." About The Scripps Research Institute TSRI is one of the world's largest, private, nonprofit biomedical research organizations. It stands at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. TSRI is internationally recognized for its research into immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. It is dedicated to the creation of basic knowledge in the biosciences for medical application and the betterment of human health, to the pursuit of fundamental scientific advances through interdisciplinary programs and collaborations, and to the education and training of researchers from around the world preparing to meet the scientific challenges of the future. About AVI BioPharma AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using two technology platforms: third-generation NEUGENE antisense drugs and cancer immunotherapy. AVI's lead NEUGENE antisense compound is designed to target cell proliferation disorders, including cardiovascular restenosis, cancer and polycystic kidney disease. In addition to targeting specific genes in the body, AVI's antiviral program uses NEUGENE antisense compounds to target single-stranded RNA viruses, including West Nile virus, SARS coronavirus, calicivirus and hepatitis C. AVI's second technology, AVICINE®, is a therapeutic cancer vaccine with late-stage trials planned for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. More information about AVI is available on the company's Web site at avibio.com; From an investment viewpoint, SARS is very high risk at this point. If we get an outbreak in the US, then clearly SARS-related stocks will benefit. Otherwise they will likely languish. That's why the above PR had a plug for applicability to other RNA viruses, with HCV clearly the pot of gold. Incidentally, another stock that might benefit from a potential treatment is ITMN - their consensus interferon showed interesting signs of clinical efficacy. Peter