What is an orphan drug?
An orphan drug is a drug for a rare disease or condition. Some rare disease treatments have been “orphaned” or discontinued because there was not enough financial incentive to continue development or production. The Orphan Drug Act incentivizes drug development for rare diseases.
Orphan Drug Definition An orphan drug is defined in the 1984 amendments of the U.S. Orphan Drug Act (ODA) as a drug intended to treat a condition affecting fewer than 200,000 persons in the United States, or which will not be profitable within 7 years following approval by the FDA.