AVI Bio Pharma
Encyclopedia
AVI BioPharma Inc. is a medical research and drug development
company with corporate
offices and research facility in Bothell, Washington
, United States
. Incorporated in 1980, the company maintains some laboratory capability in Corvallis, Oregon
. , the company has 170 issued medical patent
s, and over 150 patents pending.
. In July 2009, the company announced they would move their headquarters from Portland, Oregon
, north to Bothell, Washington
, near Seattle. At that time the company led by president and CEO Leslie Hudson had 83 employees and quarterly revenues of $3.2 million. AVI had yet to turn a profit nor developed any commercial products as of July 2009. The company lost $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2009, and then won a $11.5 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency
in October 2009. The company had completed its move to Bothell by this time, but retained their Corvallis facility.
oligos (PMOs), conceived of by James Summerton and invented by Summerton with Dwight Weller, being developed under the name NeuGene Antisense. This form of antisense therapy
uses a synthetic structural analog of RNA to bind to the messenger RNA
produced by a known disease-causing gene strand and thus deactivate it.
Morpholinos have been tested for a wide range of applications including prevention of cardiac restenosis
after angioplasty
, treatment of coronary artery bypass grafts, treatment of polycystic kidney disease, and redirection of drug metabolism. Morpholinos have been used in preclinical studies to inhibit replication of West Nile Virus
, SARS, Hepatitis C
, dengue fever
, Ebola
and Calicivirus, all of which are single stranded RNA virus
es. However, clinical studies have not demonstrated significant effects in humans and there are no approved drugs in this class.
In addition to development of Morpholinos as therapeutics, AVI has conducted six human trials for colorectal and pancreatic cancers using their cancer vaccine
AVICINE
.
Drug development
Drug development is a blanket term used to define the process of bringing a new drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery...
company with corporate
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
offices and research facility in Bothell, Washington
Bothell, Washington
Bothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Incorporated in 1980, the company maintains some laboratory capability in Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
. , the company has 170 issued medical patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s, and over 150 patents pending.
History
AVI BioPharma opened their own production laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, in February 2002. The company made headlines in 2003 when it announced work on treatments for SARS and the West Nile VirusWest Nile virus
West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic...
. In July 2009, the company announced they would move their headquarters from Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, north to Bothell, Washington
Bothell, Washington
Bothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...
, near Seattle. At that time the company led by president and CEO Leslie Hudson had 83 employees and quarterly revenues of $3.2 million. AVI had yet to turn a profit nor developed any commercial products as of July 2009. The company lost $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2009, and then won a $11.5 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
in October 2009. The company had completed its move to Bothell by this time, but retained their Corvallis facility.
Products
Its primary products are MorpholinoMorpholino
In molecular biology, a Morpholino is a molecule in a particular structural family that is used to modify gene expression. Morpholino oligomers are an antisense technology used to block access of other molecules to specific sequences within nucleic acid...
oligos (PMOs), conceived of by James Summerton and invented by Summerton with Dwight Weller, being developed under the name NeuGene Antisense. This form of antisense therapy
Antisense therapy
Antisense therapy is a form of treatment for genetic disorders or infections.When the genetic sequence of a particular gene is known to be causative of a particular disease, it is possible to synthesize a strand of nuc acid that will bind to the messenger RNA produced by that gene and inactivate...
uses a synthetic structural analog of RNA to bind to the messenger RNA
Messenger RNA
Messenger RNA is a molecule of RNA encoding a chemical "blueprint" for a protein product. mRNA is transcribed from a DNA template, and carries coding information to the sites of protein synthesis: the ribosomes. Here, the nucleic acid polymer is translated into a polymer of amino acids: a protein...
produced by a known disease-causing gene strand and thus deactivate it.
Morpholinos have been tested for a wide range of applications including prevention of cardiac restenosis
Restenosis
Restenosis literally means the reoccurrence of stenosis, a narrowing of a blood vessel, leading to restricted blood flow. Restenosis usually pertains to an artery or other large blood vessel that has become narrowed, received treatment to clear the blockage and subsequently become renarrowed...
after angioplasty
Angioplasty
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size...
, treatment of coronary artery bypass grafts, treatment of polycystic kidney disease, and redirection of drug metabolism. Morpholinos have been used in preclinical studies to inhibit replication of West Nile Virus
West Nile virus
West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic...
, SARS, Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
, dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, Ebola
Ebola
Ebola virus disease is the name for the human disease which may be caused by any of the four known ebolaviruses. These four viruses are: Bundibugyo virus , Ebola virus , Sudan virus , and Taï Forest virus...
and Calicivirus, all of which are single stranded RNA virus
RNA virus
An RNA virus is a virus that has RNA as its genetic material. This nucleic acid is usually single-stranded RNA but may be double-stranded RNA...
es. However, clinical studies have not demonstrated significant effects in humans and there are no approved drugs in this class.
In addition to development of Morpholinos as therapeutics, AVI has conducted six human trials for colorectal and pancreatic cancers using their cancer vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
AVICINE
AVICINE
AVICINE was developed by AVI BioPharma Inc. It is a cancer vaccine which was created to causean immune reaction to the tumor associated antigen, human chorionic gonadotropin ....
.
External links
- AVI BioPharma drops two directors, shareholder group to dissolve - Portland Business Journal