Press Release

For Immediate Release

BOTHELL, WA — March 9, 2010 — AVI BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVII), a developer of RNA-based drugs, will report fourth quarter and full year 2009 financial results before the NASDAQ Global Market opens on Tuesday, March 16, 2010. Subsequently, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (5:30 a.m. Pacific time), Dr. Leslie Hudson, AVI’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and J. David Boyle II, AVI’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2009 financial results and to provide a corporate update.

The conference call may be accessed by dialing 866.578.5771 for domestic callers and 617.213.8055 for international callers. The passcode for the call is 39302987 and please specify to the operator that you would like to join the “AVI BioPharma fourth quarter and full year 2009 earnings call.” The conference call will be webcast live under the events section of AVI’s website at www.avibio.com, and will be archived there following the call. 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 RNA–based drugs utilizing proprietary derivatives of its antisense chemistry (morpholino-modified phosphorodiamidate oligomers or PMOs) that can be applied to a wide range of diseases and genetic disorders through several distinct mechanisms of action. Unlike other RNA therapeutic approaches, AVI’s antisense technology has been used to directly target both messenger RNA (mRNA) and its precursor (pre-mRNA), allowing for both up- and down-regulation of targeted genes and proteins. AVI’s RNA–based drug programs are being evaluated for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including an ongoing systemic Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of exon skipping with AVI-4658. AVI’s antiviral programs have demonstrated promising outcomes in Ebola Zaire and Marburg Musoke virus infections and may prove applicable to other viral targets such as Junín, influenza, HCV or Dengue viruses. For more information, visit www.avibio.com.

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“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements that are not historical facts contained in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of research and development efforts, the results of preclinical and clinical testing, the effect of regulation by the FDA and other agencies, the impact of competitive products, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.