AVI BioPharma is now Sarepta | Seattle Times Newspaper

AVI BioPharma of Bothell has renamed itself Sarepta Therapeutics and completed a 1-for-6 reverse stock split.

The company, which in December laid off 28 percent of its work force after missing out on an expected contract for developing a vaccine against pandemic flu, now trades under the ticker symbol SRPT.

The reverse stock split responds to a warning from Nasdaq last month that the company's shares could be delisted because they had closed below $1 for more than 30 consecutive business days. The adjusted shares closed up 20 cents, or 5.1 percent, at $4.13 Thursday.

Sarepta said it is focusing its development programs on a treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as potential treatments for the lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses Ebola and Marburg.

By Seattle Times staff