AVI BioPharma Inc. has entered into an agreement with Chiron Corp. granting AVI a non-exclusive license to Chiron's patents and patent applications for the research, development and commercialisation of antisense therapeutics against hepatitis C virus (HCV).

The license further strengthens AVI's patent position on its HCV antisense product candidates, which are already covered by issued US patent claims. AVI's lead Neugene antisense compound for HCV, AVI-4065, is currently being evaluated in a multi-centre exploratory safety and efficacy clinical trial in the US, claims a company release.

"This agreement with Chiron positions AVI to move forward in our HCV development program with confidence and clarity around intellectual property. The addition of the HCV patents licensed from Chiron to AVI's own patents provides a solid proprietary base in the HCV field for AVI and our eventual commercial partners," said Denis R. Burger, Ph.D., chief executive officer of AVI.

The multi-centre clinical study currently underway is designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and viral response to daily subcutaneous administration of AVI-4065 among healthy volunteers and patients with chronic active HCV. AVI recently reported completion of the first phase of this study with favourable safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profiles and is now in the second efficacy phase of the programme.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV. It is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the developed world and the leading cause of liver transplants in the US.

AVI BioPharma develops therapeutic products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases using third-generation Neugene antisense drugs.