The implications of Industry-Funded Disease Awareness Campaigns in the Rare Disease Setting

In 1983, the US Congress enacted the Orphan Drug Act to incentivize pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic agents for rare diseases.1 The Act offers 7 years of marketing exclusivity, a 25% tax credit (50% before 2017) on qualified research and development costs, and research subsidies for orphan diseases, defined as conditions that affect less than 200,000 people in the United States. Since its passage, the number of orphan drugs has risen dramatically. In 2018, 58% of all new drug approvals had a rare disease indication.
Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research