AVI BioPharma Names Chris Garabedian Chief Executive Officer
December 13 2010 - 7:00AM
Marketwired
AVI BioPharma (NASDAQ: AVII) today announced the appointment of
Chris Garabedian as CEO and president effective Jan. 1, 2011.
Garabedian, who has served as a director since June, will continue
as a member of the board. J. David Boyle II, who held the post of
interim CEO and president, will continue in his role as CFO and
senior vice president.
Garabedian, 44, brings to AVI a broad base of biotechnology and
pharmaceutical experience with strategic and functional expertise
across corporate development, commercial operations and medical
affairs. He has been vice president of corporate strategy at
Celgene Corporation since July 2007. In that position, he has been
responsible for Celgene's strategic and financial plan and
supported the executive management team in shaping the long-term
vision of the company through proprietary R&D investments and
strategic M&A, including work in helping to execute the
company's 2008 acquisition of Pharmion.
Before this, Garabedian held several key roles at Gilead
Sciences between 1997 and 2005, including vice president of
corporate development, vice president of marketing and vice
president of medical affairs. During his tenure at Gilead, a period
when Gilead transitioned into a biopharmaceutical industry leader,
he was a member of Gilead's Operating and Development Committees
and helped oversee four global product launches in the infectious
disease market. He also held various commercial and product
development roles at COR Therapeutics and Abbott Laboratories and
began his career as a consultant to the pharmaceutical
industry.
"We believe Chris' experience is ideal for driving products from
early development through commercialization, while also leveraging
business development opportunities to unlock further value from our
unique RNA-based therapeutics technology platforms," said William
Goolsbee, AVI's chairman. "Furthermore, his experiences at two of
the industry's most successful biopharmaceutical companies are
directly applicable to AVI as we seek to transform our highly
innovative technologies into a new class of therapeutics while also
building a successful company for the long-term."
Garabedian stated, "The promise of RNA-based therapeutics has
been a challenging but strongly compelling narrative in our
industry. I believe AVI's advanced technologies have clearly
differentiated properties compared to other RNA-based approaches
that will allow AVI to be the company that delivers on this
promise."
Garabedian added, "There is a meaningful opportunity at AVI for
near-term success with our proprietary development program in the
important rare disease area of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
In addition, the U.S. government-funded infectious disease programs
in Ebola, Marburg and influenza may yield several NDA opportunities
while enabling AVI to expand its research and development
capabilities. I am excited to join the Company at such a pivotal
point in its development and look forward to leading AVI's team and
building a major industry success."
About AVI BioPharma AVI BioPharma is
focused on the discovery and development of novel RNA-based
therapeutics for rare and infectious diseases, as well as other
select disease targets. Applying pioneering technologies developed
and optimized by AVI, the Company is able to target a broad range
of diseases and disorders through distinct RNA-based mechanisms of
action. Unlike other RNA-based approaches, AVI's technologies can
be used to directly target both messenger RNA (mRNA) and precursor
messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) to either down-regulate (inhibit) or
up-regulate (promote) the expression of targeted genes or proteins.
By leveraging its highly differentiated technology platform, AVI
has built a pipeline of potentially transformative therapeutic
agents, including a clinical stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy
candidate and anti-infective candidates for influenza and
hemorrhagic fever viruses. For more information, visit
www.avibio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements and Information
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking,
including statements about AVI's management and prospects. These
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of
which are beyond AVI's control. For a detailed description of risks
and uncertainties AVI faces, you are encouraged to review the
official corporate documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. AVI does not undertake any obligation to publicly
update its forward-looking statements based on events or
circumstances after the date hereof.
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