AVI BioPharma gets government funding for viral research, sees net loss tighten by 33% in 2005

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, March 8 - AVI BioPharma Inc.'s net loss decreased by 8% to $4.6 million, or $0.10 per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31 from $5.0 million, or $0.14 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2004, according to a company news release.

For the year ended Dec. 31, net loss decreased by 33% to $16.7 million, or $0.37 per share, from $24.8 million, or $0.69 per share, for 2004.

Revenue jumped five-fold to $1.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2005 from $286,000 for the fourth quarter of 2004. For the year ended Dec. 31, revenue increased eleven-fold to $4.8 million from $430,000 for 2004.

The company attributed the increase to $4.6 million in research contract revenue from government funding for work on viral disease research projects. The 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Act allocated $11 million to AVI BioPharma for work on four bio-defense research projects, according to the release.

The company's Neugene technology is being used to develop therapeutic agents against Ebola, Marburg and dengue viruses, as well as to develop countermeasures for anthrax exposure and antidotes for ricin toxin.

AVI BioPharma had cash, cash equivalents and short-term securities of $47.1 million at Dec. 31, an increase of $27.5 million from a year earlier. This increase is due primarily to $43.3 million of net proceeds from two private equity financings completed in 2005, the company said.

"We are well positioned for the future," chief executive officer Denis R. Burger said in the release.

"Our strong drug pipeline allows us to use our internal resources to develop drug candidates that target large markets such as HCV and influenza. We also have the proven capability to develop Neugene compounds to combat emerging viral diseases at a speed that exceeds any other modern drug development timeframe."

AVI BioPharma is based in Portland, Ore., and develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using Neugene antisense drugs.

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