AVI BioPharma, Inc. a developer of RNA-based therapeutics, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued AVI a composition of matter patent for its advanced generation of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligonucleotide (PMO) chemistry called PMOplus. The patent, titled “Oligonucleotide Analogues Having Cationic Intersubunit Linkages” (No. 7943762), issued with broad composition of matter claims covering AVI's PMOplus chemistry. The PMOplus chemical backbone builds on AVI's exclusive charge-neutral PMO technology with the selective addition of positive charges to enhance potency and broaden the utility of AVI's PMO chemistry platform in a range of applications.

“The issuance of this patent is a key component to our ongoing efforts to advance a range of programmes utilizing our PMOplus technology, including two recently initiated phase I trials for our Ebola and Marburg programmes that have garnered almost $300 million in potential funding support from the US Department of Defence,” said Chris Garabedian, AVI's CEO and president. “More broadly, the issuance of this patent represents another step in securing protection for the future development of our next generation morpholino chemistries, allowing us to confidently pursue new drug candidates for both internal development and development with potential collaborators and partners.”

AVI recently initiated phase I clinical investigations of two infectious disease drug candidates based on the PMOplus chemistry, AVI-6002 and AVI-6003, for Ebola and Marburg viruses, respectively. AVI plans to advance a third drug candidate also based on the PMOplus chemistry, AVI-7100, into the clinic this quarter for the H1N1 influenza virus. AVI-6002 and AVI-6003 have demonstrated up to 80 per cent and 100 per cent survival rates in preclinical studies treating non-human primates infected with the Ebola and Marburg viruses, respectively. AVI-7100 has demonstrated antiviral properties in preclinical studies of the H1N1 influenza virus. These programmes have received support from the US Department of Defence.

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.