Shares of the rare disease specialist Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT) rose by as much as 11.5% on heavy volume in early morning action Friday. Although the biotech's stock has pulled back to some degree since its strong opening, its shares were still up by a healthy 9.4% as of 11:54 a.m. ET.

What's fueling Sarepta's strong showing today? Ahead of the opening bell, the company announced that it would seek accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for its Roche-partnered gene transfer therapy, SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec). SRP-9001 is indicated for the X-linked, inherited muscle-wasting disorder known as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

SRP-9001 is designed to promote the production of the microdystrophin protein. People afflicted with DMD are unable to produce a sufficient amount of this key structural dystrophin protein, leading to a progressive loss of muscle strength. If approved by the FDA, Sarepta and Roche's experimental gene therapy could potentially revolutionize the treatment of this inherited, and often deadly, disease.

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Source Fool.com