Conference Call DetailsAVI BioPharma Inc

The drug candidate AVI-4658 is designed to skipexon 51 of the dystrophin gene, allowing for restoration of the readingframe in the mRNA sequence. Restoration of dystrophin production achievedby skipping this exon may improve or significantly slow the diseaseprocess, thus prolonging and improving the quality of life for theaffected patient population. It is important to note that differentmutations in the dystrophin gene require different oligonucleotide drugs.In principle, approximately 80 of all DMD patients could be treated withexon-skipping drugs. AVI-4658, and the four related exon-skipping drugsunder development in AVI BioPharma could be used to treat more than halfof this population if they prove to be effective with a potentialmarket value of approximately $2.0 billion. AVI BioPharma was grantedorphan drug designation for AVI-4658 by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration in November 2007 and by the European Medicines Agency(EMEA) in December 2008.The IM injection trial was funded by the Department of Health (UK) andconducted by the members of the MDEX Consortium, led by Professor Muntoniat Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust facilities.

Imperial CollegeLondon is the sponsor for the trial, with AVI BioPharma serving as itsclinical development collaborator.Conference Call DetailsAVI BioPharma, Inc. will hold a conference call today, Wednesday, January21, 2009, at 9:00 a.m Eastern time (6:00 a.m. Pacific) to provide anupdate on the Company's Duchenne muscular dystrophy program.Individuals interested in listening to the live conference call may do soby dialing 866-303-7746 toll free within the United States and Canada, or416-641-6139 for international callers.A replay of the call will be available by dialing 800-408-3053 toll freewithin the U.S and Canada or 416-695-5800 The passcode for the replay is3281420. In addition, a recording of the call will be available withinapproximately 24 hours at Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)DMD is one of the most common fatal genetic disorders to affect childrenaround the world. Approximately one in every 3,500 boys worldwide isafflicted with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with 20,000 new cases reportedeach year. Symptoms usually appear in male children before age 6.Progressive muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis eventually spreads tothe arms, neck, and respiratory muscles By age 12, patients are confinedto a wheelchair. Eventually, the condition progresses to completeparalysis with increasing difficulty in breathing.

The condition isterminal and death usually occurs before the age of 30. Thereis currently no cure for DMD, but for the first time in decades, thereare promising therapies in or moving into clinical development.About AVI BioPharmaAVI BioPharma is focused on the discovery and development of RNA-baseddrugs utilizing proprietary derivatives of its antisense chemistry(morpholino-modified phosphorodiamidate oligomers or PMOs) that can beapplied to a wide range of diseases and genetic disorders through severaldistinct mechanisms of action. Unlike other RNA-based therapeuticapproaches, AVI's antisense technology have been used to directly targetboth messenger RNA (mRNA) and its precursor (pre-mRNA), allowing for bothup- and down-regulation of targeted genes and proteins. AVI'santiviral programs have demonstrated promising outcomes in Ebola Zaireand Marburg Musoke virus infections and may prove applicable to otherviral targets such as HCV or Dengue viruses.