AVI BioPharma

AVI BioPharma, Inc. has made three key leadership appointments to support the expansion of its drug discovery R&D capabilities. Graham Johnson, Ph.D., has been appointed senior vice president, Preclinical Development and Research, Patrick Iversen, Ph.D., has been appointed senior vice president of Research and Innovation, and Ryszard Kole, Ph.D., has been appointed senior vice president and an AVI Distinguished Scientist. All three will report to the company’s chief executive officer.

Dr. Johnson has overall responsibility for preclinical development and research, including research biology and chemistry initiatives. Dr. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in the design, discovery and development of novel therapeutics, including an extensive background in infectious diseases and neuroscience. He joins the company from NuPharmAdvise LLC, where he served as president.

“We are very happy to welcome Graham to AVI, and we appreciate the tremendous amount of experience he brings from both large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in bridging research and development,” said J. David Boyle II, AVI’s interim president and chief executive officer and chief financial officer. “At a time when we are poised for significant advancement across multiple programs, I am confident Graham’s background and leadership will prove invaluable to AVI as we continue to build recognition of our leading RNA-based therapeutics programs.”

Dr. Iversen, Ph.D. will have expanded responsibility for the identification and advancement of new drug discovery initiatives and the development of novel therapeutic applications of AVI’s RNA-based technology. Dr. Iversen has been a leading innovator in the R&D of RNA-based therapeutics for the last 21 years. Prior to joining the company in 1997 as senior vice president of R&D, he was a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“With the appointment of Pat to this important new position, we seek to more aggressively leverage his leading scientific expertise and further enable his efforts on continuing to expand and fully apply our technology platforms to discover and develop innovative RNA-based therapeutics for rare and infectious diseases,” Mr. Boyle said.

Dr. Kole’s appointment reflects and acknowledges his 30-year career of scientific leadership and achievements in the field of alternative splicing and RNA research. In his new role, Dr. Kole will serve as a key scientific liaison with both commercial and academic institutions around the world, and he will continue to support the advancement of AVI drug R&D programs.Prior to joining the company, he served as president and chief scientific officer of Ercole Biotech, Inc.

“Ryszard’s appointment as an AVI Distinguished Scientist recognizes his stature as a leading scientist since the field of RNA research and alternative splicing was established,” Mr. Boyle said. “In his new role, we are looking to Ryszard to continue to support and promote AVI’s scientific leadership and the advancement of its RNA platforms and technologies. We additionally will look to Ryszard to act as a key resource in maximizing our opportunities to leverage those platforms and technologies.”