SAN DIEGO, July 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of oligonucleotide-based therapies called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs™), announced today the appointment of Jae Kim, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer.  In his new role, Dr. Kim will be responsible for leading and expanding Avidity's AOC pipeline and will serve as a key member of its executive management team.

"We are very pleased that Jae is joining Avidity as we continue to build a leading RNA-targeted therapeutics company," said Sarah Boyce, President and CEO of Avidity. "His extensive experience developing monoclonal antibodies and oligonucleotides for a range of serious diseases, including orphan indications, will be invaluable as we progress our AOCs for muscle diseases and other tissue types toward the clinic." 

Dr. Kim joins Avidity from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he served as Clinical Research Head, Chair of the Clinical Trial Review Board, and Vice President of Clinical Development. He oversaw the development of multiple clinical assets across several therapeutic areas and played a key role in the development and approval of Givlaari® (givosiran) for acute hepatic porphyria.  Prior to Alnylam, he served in roles of increasing responsibility in global development at MyoKardia, Inc. and Amgen.  Dr. Kim received his Bachelor of Arts in Neurobiology Magna Cum Laude from Cornell University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College.  He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in Genetics at Harvard Medical School and his clinical training in cardiovascular disease at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.  Dr. Kim is a board-certified cardiologist, was an NIH-funded Principal Investigator, and served on the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital before joining industry.

"The advent of conjugation methods to expand the therapeutic application of oligonucleotides is an important step forward in the field of RNA-targeted therapeutics," said Dr. Kim.  "Avidity's AOC therapeutics could have broad utility by accessing previously undruggable tissue and cell types, which give us the potential to transform the lives of patients living with serious diseases, who currently have no available treatment options.  Avidity has made great progress on its technology and I look forward to joining the team to advance a meaningful portfolio of AOCs through clinical development."

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences, Inc. is pioneering a new class of oligonucleotide-based therapies called AOCs designed to overcome the current limitations of oligonucleotide therapies in order to treat a wide range of serious diseases. Avidity utilizes its proprietary AOC platform to design, engineer and develop therapeutics that combine the tissue selectivity of monoclonal antibodies and the precision of oligonucleotide therapies in order to access previously undruggable tissue and cell types and more effectively target underlying genetic drivers of diseases. Avidity's lead product candidate, AOC 1001, is designed to treat myotonic dystrophy type 1, and its four other muscle programs are focused on the treatment of muscle atrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease. In addition to its muscle franchise, Avidity has development efforts focused on immune and other cell types.

Forward-Looking Statements

Avidity cautions readers that statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the expansion of our pipeline; the advancement of AOCs into the clinic; and the broad potential of AOCs to treat serious diseases. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Avidity that any of our plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: we are early in our development efforts and all of our development programs are in the preclinical or discovery stage; our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on our AOC platform is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to develop any products of commercial value; risks related to integration of new management personnel; and other risks described in our prior press releases and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Avidity cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Forward Looking Statements.

Contacts:

Company:

Mike MacLean
(858) 401-7900
mikemaclean@aviditybio.com

Media and Investors:

Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
(858) 366-3243
amy@juniper-point.com

SOURCE Avidity Biosciences, Inc.