Akcea lifted by news of FDA approval for Tegsedi

Shares of US biotech firm Akcea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKCA) gained  4.39% to $31.85 by close of trading and a further 2.04% to $32.50 in after-hours on Friday, after the company revealed that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved Tegsedi (inotersen) for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin (hATTR) amyloidosis in adults.

Tegsedi, which also gained approval from the European Medicines agency in July this year, is now the first and only RNA-targeting therapeutic that powerfully reduces the production of TTR protein through a once-weekly subcutaneous injection. Additionally, the drug gained Canadian approval this month.

Akcea acquired rights to Tegsedi in April from Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS), whose share also rose 2.63% to $48.73 on the news.