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Orphan Drugs
Presenter:-
Dr Arun Singh
2nd Year PG Student
Department of Pharmacology
SMS Medical College,Jaipur
Outliners
1.Definition
2.Criteria
3.Rare Diseases
4.Essential Drugs Vs Orphan Drugs
5.Orphan Drug Act’1983
6.Examples of drugs and Manufacturers
7.Orphan drug designation process
8.Indian Perspective
9.Conclusion
10.References
Definition
The so-called 'orphan drugs' are intended to treat diseases so rare that
sponsors are reluctant to develop them under usual marketing
conditions.
The process from the discovery of a new molecule to its marketing is
long (10 years in average), expensive (several tens of millions of euros)
and very uncertain (among ten molecules tested, only one may have a
therapeutic effect).
Developing a drug intended to treat a rare disease does not allow the
recovery of the capital invested for its research.
Orphan drugs may be defined as drugs that are not developed
by the pharmaceutical industry for economic reasons, but
which respond to public health need.
Actually, the indications of a drug may also be considered as '
orphan ' since a substance may be used in the treatment of a
frequent disease but may not have been developed for another,
more rare indication.
Criteria
The FDA Orphan Drug Designation is granted to medicines and
biologics that are defined as those intended for the safe and effective
treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases or disorders which is
one that affects less than 200,000 persons in the United States.
Or
In the European Union (EU), the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
defined a drug as "orphan" if it is intended for the diagnosis, prevention
or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically and seriously
debilitating condition affecting not more up to 10,000 EU people.
Rare Disease
A rare disease occurs infrequently in a population, but there is no
universal definition.
The three elements to the definition as used in various countries are as
follows:
1. The total number of people having the disease
2. Its prevalence
3. Non-availability of treatment for the disorder
Country Total population affected, less
than 1 per
Prevalence per 10000 of
population
USA 200,000 7.5
JAPAN 50,000 4
SOUTH KOREA 20,000 4
AUSTRALIA 2,000 1.1
TAIWAN 10,000 1
EUROPE - 5
China 50,000 -
India ☺ ☺
India, like many developing countries, currently has no standard
definition. Considering the large population of India, ORDI
(Organization for Rare Diseases in India) suggests a disease to be
defined as rare if it affects 1 in 5,000 people or less.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has suggested that a rare
disease should be defined as one with frequency less than 6.5 – 10 per
10,000 people.
Populations based frequency of rare disease (According to CIOMS)
Sr. No. Rare Disease Frequency Total Populations
1. Very Common >/=1/10(>/=10%)
2. Common,Frequent >/=1/100 and <1/10(>/=1% and <10%)
3. Uncommon,Infrequent >/=1/1000 and <1/100(>/=0.1% and <1%)
4. Rare >/=1/10000 and <1/10000(>/=0.01% and <0.1%)
5. Very Rare <1/10000(<0.01%)
CIOMS: Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences.
Brief About Rare Disease
There are more than 7000+ Rare Diseases known/reported world-wide.
Over 350 Million people world-wide are affected ~30 Million in USA,
~30 Million in EU, ~70 Million in India.
About 80% of RDs are genetic in origin many of them being
monogenic.
Only ~500 approved orphan drugs exist in the market and over one
hundred in clinical trials.
Majority of the diseases have no treatment and when they exist, are
mostly unaffordable.
Early diagnosis is a critical challenge in RD management (Avg. time:
5-7 years)
Affordability
While nearly all genetic diseases are rare diseases, not all rare diseases
are genetic diseases.
There are also very rare forms of infectious diseases, such as auto-
immune diseases and rare cancers.
To date, the cause remains unknown for many rare diseases.
Rare diseases are serious, often chronic and progressive diseases.
For many rare diseases, signs may be observed at birth or in
childhood, as is the case of proximal spinal muscular atrophy,
neurofibromatosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, chondrodysplasia or Rett
syndrome.
However, over 50% of rare diseases appear during adulthood, such as
Huntington diseases, Crohn disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Kaposi's sarcoma or thyroid cancer.
Distinction between Essential medicines and Orphan drugs
Aspects Essential Medicines Orphan Drugs
Concrete policies in place since : 1977 worldwide 1983 in USA, 2000 in EU
Primary focus : Public health : bringing effective medicines
to as many patients as possible
Individual patient : even a single
patient warrants
Initiated and developed by : WHO, and Member States Governments of Australia, EU, Japan, and USA;
patient groups
Criteria : Drug driven (i.e. drug to be listed on EML
is efficacious, safe, cost-effective, based on
evidence based data, etc.)
Disease driven (i.e. disease to be
classified as an orphan drug has low
prevalence < 5-7.5 : 10000, is life-
threatening, etc.)
Policies aim to : Provide established medicines to patients Provide new medicines to as yet
untreatable patients
Target populations : Initially low-income countries, now all
countries
High-income countries, developed
countries
Economics : Cost-effectiveness, sustainable and
affordable access
Relatively high prices per individual
patient, cost-maximization per
population
Features of orphan drug incentive systems in the USA and EU
Feature USA EU
Program established 1983 – the Orphan Drug Act modified the Federal
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
2000 – Orphan, Medicinal
Products Regulation
Prevalence criterion for rare
disease
< 200 000 patients in the USA (< 7.5 : 10 000) Life-threatening or chronically
debilitating disorder that affects <5:
1000O in the EU
Requirements for orphan
drug designation
Rare disease, or research and development costs
cannot be recovered in 7 years
Rare disease, or product unlikely to be
developed without incentives or new
product will be of significant benefit
Products eligible for orphan
drug designation
Drugs and biologicals (including vaccines and in-vivo
diagnostics)
Dugs and biologicals (including vaccines
and in-vivo diagnostics)
Market exclusivity 7 years; prevents same product being approved for
the same indication unless clinical superiority is
shown
10 years; can be reduced to 6 years if
orphan drug criteria no longer met
Other benefits Regulatory fee waivers, 50% tax credit on clinical
research after designation; grants for clinical
research (pharmaceutical companies and academia
eligible); protocol assistance; faster review if
indication warrants; research grants for medical
devices and medical food.
Regulatory fees can be reduced or
waived; access to centralized procedure;
protocol assistance. Individual Member
States have to implement measures to
stimulate the development of orphan
medicinal products
Orphan drug Acts,1984
USA became the first country to enact Orphan Drug Act on January
4th,1983.
The law is designed to facilitate the development and
commercialization of drugs to treat rare diseases, The salient features of
the act are as follows:
i. Incentives to Pharma companies investing in Orphan Drugs R&D
ii. Faster/Priority clearance of Orphan Drugs Application through FDA
iii. Market exclusivity for 7 years for Pharma companies to recover costs
Global Statistics of Orphan Drugs
• As of 2014, there were 281 marketed orphan drugs and more than 400
orphan-designated drugs in clinical trials.
• More than 60% of orphan drugs were biologics.
• The U.S. dominated development of orphan drugs, with more than 300
in clinical trials, followed by Europe.
• Cancer treatment was the indication in more than 30% of orphan drug
trials.
• Number of orphan drugs in clinical trials: 600
• Number of orphan drugs in Phase-2 Trial: 231
• Number of orphan drugs in U.S. clinical trials: 350 in the pipeline
from research until registration
Companies involved in the manufacture of orphan drugs
1.Celegene 11.Amgen
2.Johnson & Johnson 12.Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine
3.Roche 13.Astra Zeneca
4.Novartis 14.BioMarin Pharmaceutical
5.Takeda 15.Biogen
6.Abbevie 16.Incyte
7.Sanofi 17.Bristol-Myers Squibb
8.Vertex Pharmaceuticals 18.Eisai
9.Alexion Pharmaceuticals 19.CSL
10.Pfizer 20.Syros Pharmaceuticals
Few examples of orphan drugs and it’s market’s player
Drug Pharmaceutical Companies Therapeutic Indication
1.Eloctate Bioverativ, a Sanofi Company Acute Haemophilia-A
2. Hemin (Brand name:
Panhematin
Abbott Laboratories Acute intermittent porphyria
(AIP)
3. Octreotide (Brand name:
Sandostatin LAR)
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Acromegaly
4. Edaravone (Brand name:
Radicava)
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma
Corporation
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS).
5. Porfimer sodium (Brand name:
Photofri
Pinnacle Biologics Inc Barrett's esophagus
6. Mifepristone (Brand name:
Korlym)
Corcept Therapeutics, Inc Cushing's syndrome
7. Infliximab (Brand name:
Remicade)
Centocor, Inc Crohn's disease
8. Deflazacort (Brand name:
Emflaza)
PTC Therapeutics Duchenne muscular dystrophy
(DMD)
9.Imatinib mesylate (Brand name:
Gleevec®)
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Gastrointestinal stromal tumor
(GIST)
Drug Pharmaceutical Companies Therapeutic Indication
10. Rifaximin (Brand name:
Normix
Salix Pharmaceuticals Hepatic encephalopathy
11. Paclitaxel (Brand name:
Taxol)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co HIV/AIDS
12. Amphotericin B Liposomal
(Brand name: AmBisome®)
Astellas Pharma US, Inc Leishmaniasis
13. Eculizumab (Brand name:
Soliris)
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc Myasthenia Gravis
14. laronidase (Brand name:
Aldurazyme
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc. Mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS
I)
15. Risdiplam (Brand name:
Evrysdi)
Genentech Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)
16. Fosphenytoin (Brand name:
Cerebyx®)
Pfizer Status epilepticus
Orphan Drug Designation Process
Sponsors have to first send request to the Office of Orphan Products
Development (OOPD) to grant orphan designation to their drug or
biological product to take advantage of financial incentives available for
further product development.
And then send NDA (New Drug Application) to the Centre for Drug
Evaluation and Research (CDER) or the Centre for Biologics
Evaluation and Research (CBER) to market their orphan drug or
biological product.
After Submission of Designation Process Request
Typical review cycle ~ 90 days (often less)
Will either receive:
-Designation Letter
Or
-Deficiency Letter
Once designated, sponsor is required to submit annual reports until drug
is approved
Review of a Designation Request involves-
1.What is the disease/condition?
2.Is the disease rare (prevalence)?
3.Is there sufficient scientific rationale that demonstrates “promise” that
the drug/biologic will treat, diagnose or prevent the disease/condition at
issue?
Indian Perspective
Coming to the Indian scenario, so far, ~450 rare diseases have been
identified in India.
It was statistically estimated that, in India, the rare disease and
disorder population was 72,611,605 as per published data of national
population census of 2011.
Now, the awareness for rare disease is increasing.
Scenarios for many rare diseases are also changing.
Cystic fibrosis was thought to be very rare in India, but genetic
analysis has now shown that the disease is prevalent but was
undiagnosed earlier.
India has reportedly higher rare diseases population than the world
average, but initiatives from government side are still less, and in fact,
India lacks national legislation for orphan medicines and rare diseases,
in spite that these are most populated countries.
The first attempt to bring together all experts of rare disease under a
common platform was initiated by INSA, which conducted the first of
the kind rare disease workshop entitled “To Develop a Scientific
Program for Research on Rare Diseases” in 2016, which deliberated
on issues such as definition of “Rare disease,” rare disease awareness,
rare disease research avenues, policy framework for boosting and
incentivizing research and development (R and D) efforts, and
framing suitable legislation to ensure involvement of the State in
fulfilling the special needs of rare diseases.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam addressing the issues of rare disease said, “a
coordinated effort at the national level is the need of the hour for more
research and understanding rare diseases in the country.
There is a need for a whole ecosystem consisting of doctors, a registry
to record the prevalence of rare diseases, biobanks, support groups,
more research on drug discovery, and of course, a regulatory
framework. Each component is complex, and there is a lot of work
ahead.”
Financial incentives available to orphan drug
developers in India
Currently, drug developers in India are receiving no formal incentives
from the Government and hence they are more focused on
-developing affordable drugs for more common diseases such as oral
insulin
-statins for preventing or slowing the progression of cardiovascular
disease
-vaccines and antibiotics for a number of preventable infectious diseases,
etc.
Hence, patients with rare diseases in India have to rely on imported
drugs from western countries which makes these treatments (even
when available) unaffordable.
Financial assistance to rare disease patients in India
• The healthcare system in India is mostly self-funded by the patients.
• This restricts the affordability threshold for drugs and diagnostic tests
to around 25 thousand rupees (~400- 500 USD) per instance or about a
lac rupee (~1600- 2000 USD) per year on recurring expenses for most
patients.
• The costs of most available orphan drugs are significantly higher than
this affordability range requiring the need for financial assistance.
• Patients look for patient foundations, other nongovernmental
organizations, and charitable access programs offered by certain
Pharma companies to cover these costs.
• Examples of such initiations are:
-Birth Defects Registry of India(BDRI)
-Lysosomal Storage Disorders Support Society
-Metabolic Errors and Rare Diseases organization
-Association for Social and Health Advancement
-Haemophilia Foundation
-Sjogren’s India
-Pompe Foundation o Muscular Dystrophy Foundation
-Alzheimer and Related Disorders Society Of India
-Rett Syndrome Foundation o Association of Persons with Rare Eye
Diseases
-Amrithavarshini
-ABLE (Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises)
-Mumbai Marathon
Biggest hurdles to improving patient access to orphan drugs in India
Awareness among doctors, patients and other stakeholders of rare
diseases, relevant clinical trials and orphan drugs.
Affordability and Accessibility (easy import and distribution) of
orphan drugs in India.
Enactment of the Orphan Drug Act by the Government of India.
Without assurance of marketing exclusivity, IP rights and other
financial incentives, the orphan drugs industry is unlikely to succeed
in India
Conclusion
The new approved orphan drugs should be easily accessible and
affordable to patients with rare diseases in India.
Government of India and the other Pharma/Biotech/Diagnostic
industry should work together to enact an Orphan Drugs Act
(ODA) and that will create incentives for orphan drug
developers.
Government needs to create a framework that is conducive to
enabling the manufacturing of orphan drugs in India.
Summary
1.The drug which are used for rare disease is called orphan drugs.
2.These drugs are not developed by the pharmaceutical industry for economic reasons,
but which respond to public health need.
3.As per Orphan Drug Act amendment (1983) Act of USA, a rare disease /condition is
one that affects less then 0.2 million people in USA.
4.India, like many developing countries, currently has no standard definition.
Considering the large population of India, ORDI (Organization for Rare Diseases in
India) suggests a disease to be defined as rare if it affects 1 in 5,000 people or less.
5.Sponsors have to first send request to the Office of Orphan Products Development
(OOPD) to grant orphan designation to their drug or biological product to take
advantage of financial incentives available for further product development then further
go for review for designation request and finally approval for market product.
6.Government Body pay free of cost for these drug that is used for rare disease.
7.Recently,Risdiplam (Eversdy) drug give to child patient in J.K.LON Hospital to treat
Spinal Muscular Atrophy free of cost which is rare disease. GOI self funded for this.
8.Sponsor collaborated with GOI and pharmaceutical companies for new approved
orphan ,so these drugs should be easily accessible and affordable to patients with rare
diseases in India.
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Orphan drugs