AVI BioPharma Announces Dr. Ryszard Kole as Senior Vice President of Discovery Research
April 16 2008 - 9:30AM
Marketwired
PORTLAND, OR today announced the appointment of Ryszard
'Richard' Kole, Ph.D. as Senior Vice President of Discovery
Research. Dr. Kole has a long and successful track record of
research and discovery in directed alternative splicing and, as
company founder, was the major driving force behind the value
created by Ercole Biotech, Inc. AVI's acquisition of Ercole closed
on March 20, 2008.
Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D., who had served AVI as Senior Vice
President of Research and Development, will assume a new role as
Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances. In that role, he will
manage AVI's ongoing programs in government contracting and focus
the Company's external collaborator network for the identification
of novel drug targets both for the Company's and external partner
R&D programs.
The Company also announced that internationally-known scientist,
Hans Wigzell, M.D, Ph.D., has agreed to assume the role of Chairman
of AVI's Corporate Strategy Board which, when fully constituted,
will provide external review and facilitation of the Company's
R&D strategy and revenue-generating partnerships. The Strategy
Board will replace the former Scientific Advisory Board, and is
anticipated to consist of members qualified by experience and track
record to actively support the translation of AVI's technology from
the laboratory through the clinic and to commercialization through
successful partnering of the Company's product line.
"These announcements signal the actions behind AVI's commitment
to focus its discovery and development pipeline to achieve a
coherent flow of future products," said Leslie Hudson, Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of AVI. "Dr. Kole and Dr. Iversen are
passionately committed to drug discovery and have complementary
skills; they will provide an excellent synergy in their new roles.
AVI's technology and infrastructure have the capacity to drive not
only its own in-house R&D programs but also those of external
partners. I am delighted that Dr Hans Wigzell has agreed to chair
AVI's Corporate Strategy Board. He is an exceptionally gifted
scientist with a special regard for commercialization. The legacy
of his time as President of the Karolinska Institute and Chairman
of the Nobel Committee transcends a scientific contribution alone.
Hans has a rare talent that is able to facilitate the move of
compelling discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic through to
the international biotechnology sector. We look forward to working
with him in this regard at AVI."
About Dr. Ryszard 'Richard' Kole
Dr. Kole is a pioneer in the use of oligonucleotides for the
modulation of splicing. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute of
Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As a
postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Sidney Altman at Yale
University, he provided early evidence that an RNA component is
essential for the activity of a tRNA processing enzyme, RNase P.
Subsequent discovery that RNase P is a ribozyme was recognized by a
Nobel Prize for Dr. Altman. After joining the Department of
Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as
a faculty member, Dr. Kole's work led to a discovery that splicing
provides a novel target for gene based therapies of numerous
disorders including cancer, genetic diseases and metabolic
disorders such as obesity. Dr. Kole founded Ercole Biotech, Inc. to
develop and commercialize this technology.
About Dr. Hans Wigzell
Dr. Wigzell is considered one of the pioneers in Scandinavia of
bringing innovative medical research into commercial application.
He is presently the chairman of the Board of Karolinska Development
comprising 41 companies, 10 of which are in clinical trials. He
holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Karolinska Institute from
Stockholm and his academic career includes President of Karolinska
Institute; Chairman, Nobel Prize Committee, Karolinska Institute;
Distinguished External Advisory Professor, Ehime University,
Japan.
Dr. Wigzell has also served as General Director of the National
Bacteriological Laboratory and the National Institute for
Infectious Disease Control, both in Stockholm; Chief Scientific
Advisor to the Swedish Government; and is presently Senior
Strategic Advisor for the Karolinska Institute.
He has published over 700 scientific articles in international
peer-reviewed journals and is on the editorial board for several
international scientific journals. In addition, Dr. Wigzell is a
member of the Royal Academy of Science, Sweden; Royal Academy of
Engineering, Sweden; Danish Academy of Arts and Letters; American
Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the Finnish Science Society.
About AVI BioPharma
AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of
life-threatening diseases using third-generation NeuGene� antisense
drugs and ESPRIT directed RNA alternative splicing 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 in stent and
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 Musoke and Ebola
Zaire viruses. More information about AVI is available at
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.
AVI Press and Investor Contact: Michael Hubbard Email Contact
Director of Corporate Communications (503) 227-0554
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