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AVI BioPharma to Present Company Overview at the Cowen and Company 31st Annual Health Care Conference

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^{Published in Health and Fitness on Tuesday, March 1st 2011 at 5:20 GMT by Market Wire}  

BOTHELL, WA--(Marketwire - March 1, 2011) - AVI BioPharma (NASDAQ: [ AVII ]), a developer of RNA-based therapeutics, announced today that the company is scheduled to present at the Cowen and Company 31^st Annual Health Care Conference in Boston on Monday, March 7, at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time. Chris Garabedian, AVI's president and CEO, will provide a company overview.

The presentation will be Webcast live under the events section of AVI's website at [ www.avibio.com ] and will be archived there following the presentation. Please connect to AVI's website several minutes prior to the start of the broadcast to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About AVI BioPharma
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. Unlike other RNA-based approaches, AVI's technologies can be used to directly target both messenger RNA (mRNA) and precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) to either down-regulate (inhibit) or up-regulate (promote) the expression of targeted genes or proteins. By leveraging its highly differentiated technology platform, AVI has built a pipeline of potentially transformative therapeutic agents, including a clinical stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy candidate and anti-infective candidates for influenza and hemorrhagic fever viruses. For more information, visit [ www.avibio.com ].