POWER OF ATTORNEY

The undersigned hereby constitutes and appoints each of Christine Ocampo and
Ryan Murr, the
undersigned's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact to:

(1)	execute for and on behalf of the undersigned, in the undersigned's capacity
as an officer and/or
	director Avanir Pharmaceuticals (the "Company"), Forms 3, 4 and 5 in accordance
with
	Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and
the rules
	thereunder;

(2)	do and perform any and all acts for and on behalf of the undersigned which
may be necessary or
	desirable to complete and execute any such Form 3, 4 or 5, complete and execute
any amendment
	or amendments thereto, and timely file any such form with the United States
Securities and
	Exchange Commission and any stock exchange or similar authority; and

(3)	take any other action of any type whatsoever in connection with the
foregoing which, in the
	opinion of such attorney-in-fact, may be of benefit to, in the best interest
of, or legally required
	by, the undersigned, it being understood that the documents executed by such
attorney-in-fact on
	behalf of the undersigned pursuant to this Power of Attorney shall be in such
form and shall
	contain such terms and conditions as such attorney-in-fact may approve in such
attorney-in-fact's
	discretion.

      The undersigned hereby grants to each such attorney-in-fact full power and
authority to do and
perform any and every act and thing whatsoever requisite, necessary or proper to
be done in the exercise
of any of the rights and powers herein granted, as fully to all intents and
purposes as the undersigned
might or could do if personally present, with full power of substitution or
revocation, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that such attorney-in-fact, or such attorney-in-fact's substitute
or substitutes, shall lawfully
do or cause to be done pursuant to this power of attorney.  The undersigned
acknowledges that the
foregoing attorneys-in-fact, in serving in such capacity at the request of the
undersigned, are not
assuming, nor is the Company assuming, any of the undersigned's responsibilities
to comply with
Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

      This Power of Attorney shall remain in full force and effect until the
undersigned is no longer
required to file Forms 3, 4, and 5 with respect to the undersigned's holdings of
and transactions in
securities issued by the Company, unless earlier revoked by the undersigned in a
signed writing delivered
to the attorneys-in-fact.

The undersigned has caused this Power of Attorney to be executed as of this 10th
day
of March, 2008.


/s/ Keith A. Katkin
Signature

Keith A. Katkin
Print Name