June 8, 2010
America's AVI BioPharma enters US$18M-swine flu study deal
The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and AVI BioPharma Inc. have made a deal for the study against swine flu worth up to US$18 million for the drug company.
According to AVI BioPharma (NASDAQ: AVII), the deal involves its AVI-7100 drug, a medical countermeasure that can be used against swine flu. The deal comes two months after a similar US$4 million deal with the DTRA Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI).
The DTRA was formed in 1998 to combat threats of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological and radiation threats. The TMTI was created by the US Department of Defense to study ways to protect soldiers from biological threats by developing medical countermeasures.
Bothell, Washington-based AVI BioPharma moved its headquarters from Oregon to Washington last year. It subsequently shuffled its management team.
Roughly half of the company's employees are in Corvallis, where it employs around 35.
