AVI Biopharma, a Portland, OR-based drug developer, said it has “verbal clearance” from the FDA to start clinical trials against the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses. AVI expects to get a formal written go-ahead from the FDA in early 2009, the company said. Shares of the company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVII]]) shot up 63 percent to 80 cents shortly after the opening bell.
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
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