Rare Disease Day: Unmet medical need inspires biopharmaceutical innovation

Today is Rare Disease Day, an annual reminder of the incredible community of patients living with a rare disease. In the U.S., rare diseases areclassified as conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people, and according to theNational Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 percent of the U.S. population currently lives with a rare disease. To date, researchers have identified more than 7,000 rare diseases,85 percent of which are considered life-threatening, and the biopharmaceutical industry is committed to finding treatments for these 30 million patients living with rare diseases. We ’ve made important progress toward diagnosing and treating rare diseases, yet many unmet medical needs still remain. Despite the successes and the hard work of researchers, patients, and clinicians, there is still more to be done --only 5 percent of rare diseases have an approved treatment option.
Source: The Catalyst - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Tags: Rare Diseases FDA PDUFA Source Type: news