Benzinga | Oct 18, 2021 09:15AM EDT

Avidity Biosciences Announces FDA Grants Fast Track Designation To AOC 1001 For The Treatment Of Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs(tm)), today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation to its lead program, AOC 1001, for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1).

Fast Track Designation enables more frequent interactions with the FDA to expedite the development and review process for drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs.

"DM1 is an underrecognized, progressive and often fatal disease with no therapeutic options. Fast Track designation for AOC 1001 underscores this unmet need and allows us to expeditiously work with FDA to potentially deliver this first-in-class therapy to people living with DM1 as quickly as possible," said Sarah Boyce, president and CEO of Avidity.