AVI BioPharma Management
Leslie Hudson, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Hudson was appointed CEO and Board Director of AVI in February 2008 and assumed the role of president in September 2008. Dr. Hudson brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to his role at AVI, Dr. Hudson served sequentially as president and CEO of two publicly–traded companies; Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc. He held several senior positions at Pharmacia Corp., including GVP and General Manager of Ophthalmology and was VP for Discovery Research at Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline). Dr. Hudson serves on the Board of Directors of Nabi Biopharmaceuticals and Hooper Holmes Inc, both of which are publically–traded companies.
J. David Boyle II
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Boyle joined the Company in August 2008, bringing extensive operational and international financial experience to AVI. He was previously Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of XOMA Ltd., a California–based leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies. In addition to his past positions as VP of Finance at Polycom and Director of Business Development at Intel, Mr. Boyle has held senior positions in biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical companies. He was at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. in the US and at Ares Serono Group both in the US and Switzerland.
R. Ray Cummings, MS, MBA
Vice President of Business Development
R. Ray Cummings has served as Vice President of Business Development since April 2004. Mr. Cummings has twenty–five years of experience in business development and licensing positions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, Mr. Cummings was founder and president of Cummings Consulting LLC, where he assisted clients in developing successful business strategies and establishing corporate partnerships. Prior to that, Mr. Cummings held senior business development and licensing positions in G.D. Searle and Company, Immunex Corporation, and Aradigm Corporation.
Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances
Patrick L. Iversen, Ph.D. served as Senior Vice President of Research and Development from 1997 to 2008 (and a director from 1997 to 2007), assuming this new role in 2008. From 1987 through 1997, he was on the staff of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Iversen has published extensively on antisense research and development, and has been a consultant to companies including Glaxo Inc., Innovir Pharmaceuticals, Lynx Therapeutics, and Isis Pharmaceuticals.
Ryszard Kole, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Discovery Research
Dr. Kole joined AVI BioPharma in April 2008. He is a pioneer in the use of oligonucleotides for the modulation of splicing. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Sidney Altman at Yale University, Dr. Kole provided early evidence that an RNA component is essential for the activity of a tRNA processing enzyme, RNase P. Subsequent discovery that RNase P is a ribozyme was recognized by a Nobel Prize for Dr. Altman. After joining the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a faculty member, Dr. Kole’s work led to a discovery that splicing provides a novel target for gene based therapies of numerous disorders including cancer, genetic diseases and metabolic disorders such as obesity. Dr. Kole founded Ercole Biotech, Inc. to develop and commercialize this technology.
Shirley J Leow, M.Sc.
Vice President of Clinical Operations and Project Management
Shirley Leow joined the Company in August 2008 and brings more than 35 years experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining AVI, Shirley served in key clinical and program management leadership positions in Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth, Navigant Biotechnologies and Pharmacia, managing staff and teams toward successful product candidate transitions from early development to global market launch. She also served on an NIH Scientific Steering Committee in the early fight against AIDS and worked extensively with the National Cancer Institute in numerous drug development programs. Shirley recently received the honor of Cambridge Who’s Who Female Executive Leader of the Year for the pharmaceutical industry.
Dwight D. Weller, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Chemistry and Manufacturing
Dwight D. Weller, Ph.D. joined AVI as a director in 1991, serving in that capacity until 2007. He served as Vice President of Chemistry from 1992 to 1997, and has served as Senior Vice President of Chemistry and Manufacturing since 1997. Previously a member of the faculty of Oregon State University since 1978, he was Associate Professor in its Chemistry Department from 1984 to 1992.
Board of Directors
Chief Executive Officer
AVI BioPharma
Chairman
AVI BioPharma
Retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
DepoMed Inc.
Chairman
Apex Bioventures, LLC
Apex Bioventures Acquisition Corporation
Chairman
BMG Pharma LLC
Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
InterMune, Inc.
CEO and Chief Medical Officer
Drug Safety Solutions
Corporate Strategy Board
Hans Wigzell, M.D., Ph.D.
Chairman, Corporate Strategy Board
Dr. Wigzell is considered one of the pioneers in Scandinavia of bringing innovative medical research into commercial application. He is presently the chairman of the Board of Karolinska Development comprising 41 companies, 10 of which are in clinical trials. He holds an M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Karolinska Institute from Stockholm and his academic career includes President of Karolinska Institute; Chairman, Nobel Prize Committee, Karolinska Institute; Distinguished External Advisory Professor, Ehime University, Japan.
Dr. Wigzell has also served as General Director of the National Bacteriological Laboratory and the National Institute for Infectious Disease Control, both in Stockholm; Chief Scientific Advisor to the Swedish Government; and is presently Senior Strategic Advisor for the Karolinska Institute.
He has published over 700 scientific articles in international peer–reviewed journals and is on the editorial board for several international scientific journals. In addition, Dr. Wigzell is a member of the Royal Academy of Science, Sweden; Royal Academy of Engineering, Sweden; Danish Academy of Arts and Letters; American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the Finnish Science Society.