ERCOLE BIOTECH

Ercole Biotech, Inc., a research stage biopharmaceutical company, creates oligonucleotide drugs that achieve their therapeutic effect by directing the alternative splicing of target genes. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. As of March 20, 2008, Ercole Biotech, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AVI Biopharma, Inc.