AVI BioPharma Names Dr. Leslie Hudson as Chief Executive Officer
February 11 2008 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVII), today announced that the
company�s board of directors has named Leslie Hudson, Ph.D., as
chief executive officer effective immediately. Dr. Hudson, who also
joins the board as a director, brings more than 20 years of
leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical
industries and succeeds K. Michael Forrest, who has served as
interim CEO for AVI since March 2007. Mr. Forrest will remain on
the board of directors. �Following an extensive business evaluation
and search for a well-credentialed executive to direct the
commercial development of our proprietary third-generation
antisense NEUGENE� technology, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Hudson
as AVI�s CEO,� said Jack L. Bowman, chairman of AVI. �We believe
Dr. Hudson�s proven leadership qualities and wealth of experience
in successful drug development and commercialization make him the
ideal candidate to lead our company at this critical juncture.� �I
am delighted with this extraordinary opportunity to lead AVI, a
company with novel technology that has exceptional potential for
treating important, unmet medical needs,� Dr. Hudson said. �AVI has
embarked on a plan to test and commercialize NEUGENE-based drugs.
It will be my pleasure to work with the board of directors, senior
management and staff at AVI to bring further speed and focus to
this process and thus enhance shareholder value.� Until January
this year, Dr. Hudson served as interim president and CEO of
publicly traded Nabi Biopharmaceuticals where he led the
reorganization and turnaround of the company. His previous industry
appointments included CEO and president of DOV Pharmaceutical Inc.,
a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and several senior
positions at Pharmacia Corporation, including senior vice president
of research and exploratory development, as well as general manager
and group vice president of the ophthalmology business unit. He
previously worked at Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline plc) in
several senior positions, including vice president for discovery
research. Dr. Hudson received his Ph.D. from the Faculty of
Medicine at the Department of Immunology, Middlesex Hospital
Medical School, University of London, and his bachelor�s degree in
zoology summa cum laude from the Imperial College of Science,
Technology and Medicine, at the University of London. Dr. Hudson is
also an associate of the Royal College of Science. About AVI
BioPharma AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the
treatment of life-threatening diseases using third-generation
NEUGENE antisense drugs and ESPRIT exon skipping technology. AVI�s
ESPRIT technology is initially being applied to potential
treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. AVI�s NEUGENE compounds
are also designed to treat cardiovascular restenosis, and aid in
coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures. In addition to
targeting specific genes in the body, AVI�s antiviral program uses
NEUGENE antisense compounds to combat disease by targeting
single-stranded RNA viruses, including Marburg virus, Ebola Zaire
virus, and H5N1 avian influenza virus. More information about AVI
is available on the company�s Web site at http://www.avibio.com.
�Safe Harbor� Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: The statements that are not historical facts
contained in this release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the
results of research and development efforts, the results of
preclinical and clinical testing, the effect of regulation by the
FDA and other agencies, the impact of competitive products, product
development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and
other risks detailed in the company�s Securities and Exchange
Commission filings.
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