MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviron (Nasdaq: AVIR)
announced today, that Fred Kurland has been appointed Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer.  He succeeds Dr. Vera Kallmeyer as CFO.  Dr.
Kallmeyer has also been Vice President, Corporate Development since 1993, and
will continue with Aviron as a consultant.
    Mr. Kurland joins Aviron from Protein Design Labs, Inc., where he served
as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  At Protein Design Labs, he was
actively involved in all phases of financing, investor relations and strategic
planning.  Previously, Mr. Kurland was Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
and Secretary, at Applied Immune Sciences.  Mr. Kurland also held a number of
positions at Syntex Corporation, including Vice President and Controller.
    Mr. Kurland has a BS degree in Business & Economics from Lehigh
University, a MBA and a JD from the University of Chicago, and is also a CPA.
    "Mr. Kurland is a very important addition to the Aviron team," said J.
Leighton Read, MD, Chairman and CEO of Aviron.  "His breadth of knowledge and
experience in biotechnology, finance and operations, will be a great asset to
Aviron, as we move towards commercialization of our intranasal influenza
vaccine, and advance the other vaccine products in our pipeline."
    "Dr. Vera Kallmeyer has made many extraordinary contributions to Aviron.
These include leadership roles in our financing and corporate partnering
activities, as well as a key role in shaping our strategy.  She will continue
to support Aviron as a consultant for a transition period, and I look forward
to continuing to benefit from her experience."
    Aviron is an emerging biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View,
California whose strategy is to focus on the prevention of disease.  The
Company's goal is to develop vaccines to prevent a wide range of viral
infections that affect the general population, providing a cost-effective
means of addressing a number of major diseases.  The majority of the Company's
products under development are live vaccines against viral infections,
including influenza, parainfluenza (PIV-3), cytomegalovirus (CMV), genital
herpes (HSV-2) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
    This press release contains forward-looking statements.  Actual results
may differ materially from those suggested here.  Additional information
concerning factors that could cause such a difference is contained in Aviron's
Prospectus dated August 13, 1997.

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