AVI BioPharma, Inc. has announced the publication of positive preclinical results from a new class of antisense based antibiotics, called NeuBiotics. The article, titled "Gene-Specific Effects of Antisense Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomer Peptide conjugates on Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium in Pure Culture and in Tissue Culture," appears in the August issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Vol. 50, No. 8. AVI research scientists Bruce Geller, PhD, and Lucas Tilley authored the paper.

AVI has developed peptide conjugates that are effective in delivering NeuBiotic compounds directly into bacteria. NeuBiotics are both specific and effective in blocking the bacterial genetic target. Targeted bacteria can be eliminated without causing toxicity to human cells. NeuBiotics eliminated both E. coli and S. typhimurium infection in cell culture, which demonstrates the broad applicability of the NeuBiotic approach.

"Our antisense approach to developing a new class of antibiotics has enormous potential to treat infections caused by emerging strains of antibiotic resistant, gram negative bacteria," stated Patrick L. Iversen, PhD, senior vice president of research and development at AVI. "Based on these results, we are now in a strong position to develop NeuBiotics for a variety of microbial infections."

AVI has recently issued US Patent No. 7,049,431, titled "Antisense Antibacterial Cell Division Composition and Method," providing broad protection for NeuGene antisense compounds targeting bacterial cell division and cell cycle genes for the development of this new class of antibiotics.

NeuBiotics are antisense antibiotics composed of relatively short (10-13 subunits) NeuGene antisense polymers covalently linked to bacteria permeating peptides. The antisense oligomers target and disable essential bacterial gene function, and the delivery peptides improve the antisense uptake into bacterial cells.