Carlsbad: Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Ionis and AstraZeneca's eplontersen, an investigational therapy for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) in adults. The FDA grants development programs Fast Track designation to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs that demonstrate the potential to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

"Receiving Fast Track designation from the FDA reinforces our belief that eplontersen has the potential to be a transformational treatment for patients with ATTR-CM, which remains a progressive and fatal condition for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide despite available treatment options," said Eugene Schneider, M.D., executive vice president and chief clinical development officer, Ionis. "CARDIO-TTRansform is the largest, most comprehensive study ever conducted in ATTR-CM patients, with results expected as early as next year."
Sarah Walters, vice president, U.S. cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, AstraZeneca said, "We are committed to accelerating innovation and addressing the spectrum of unmet patient needs in amyloidosis. Together with our partner Ionis, AstraZeneca is building on our heritage in cardiovascular disease and RNA-targeted therapeutics to bring a potential best-in-class treatment for people living with ATTR-CM."
In December 2023, eplontersen was approved in the U.S. for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adults, commonly referred to as hATTR-PN or ATTRv-PN, under the brand name WAINUA (eplontersen). As part of a global development and commercialization agreement, AstraZeneca and Ionis are commercializing WAINUA for the treatment of ATTRv-PN in the U.S. and are seeking regulatory approval in Europe and other parts of the world. WAINUA was granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and in the EU for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR).
The global CARDIO-TTRansform Phase 3 study of eplontersen in adults with ATTR-CM is fully enrolled with more than 1,400 patients – making it the largest study in this patient population to date. The company plans to share data from the CARDIO-TTRansform study as early as 2025.
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