ALAMEDA, Calif., Dec. 7, 2006 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Avigen, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVGN), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of neurological conditions, announced today that President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Chahine, Ph.D., J.D., will participate on the "Navigating New Developments in Neurology" panel on Wednesday, December 13, 2006, from 8:00-8:55 a.m. EST as part of the 2006 RBC Capital Markets Healthcare Conference being held at the Westin New York at Times Square Hotel in New York City.
RBC will conduct a live audio webcast of the presentation. To access the webcast over the Internet, please go to www.avigen.com. Rebroadcast of the presentation will be available shortly after the conclusion of the session and can be accessed over the Internet at www.avigen.com.
About Avigen
Avigen is a biopharmaceutical company focused on unique small molecule therapeutics and biologics to treat serious neurological disorders, including neuropathic pain and neuromuscular spasm and spasticity. Avigen's strategy is to complete the requirements of clinical development for each of the candidates in its product pipeline, and continue to look for opportunities to expand its pipeline through a combination of internal research, acquisitions, and in-licensing, with the goal of becoming a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical company committed to its small molecule and biologics neurology products. The company is currently developing AV650 for spasticity and neuromuscular spasm and two candidates for neuropathic pain, AV411 and AV333. Additionally, the company is advancing toward clinical trials with a novel therapy for the treatment of multiple bleeding disorders, including hemophilia A and B, AV513. For more information about Avigen, consult the company's website at www.avigen.com.
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Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which include, among others, statements relating to Avigen's intention of completing the requirements of clinical development for each of the candidates in its product pipeline; looking for opportunities to expand its pipeline through a combination of internal research, acquisitions, and in-licensing; and becoming a fully integrated commercial biopharmaceutical company. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the fact that development of small molecule therapeutics and other therapeutic discovery and development is a time- and resource-intensive process, which may result in the expenditure of a significant amount of time and resources with no marketable product resulting from the effort; and the risk that Avigen will not be able to obtain regulatory approvals for its drug products, which is required prior to marketing drug products. In addition, there are many other risks and uncertainties inherent in the development of drug products. Other risks and uncertainties relating to Avigen are detailed in reports filed by Avigen with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Avigen's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2006, under the caption "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of Part 2 of that report, which was filed with the SEC on November 2, 2006.