Regulatory Framework for Drug Development in Rare Diseases

Drug development is a highly regulated industry. Therapeutic options for rare diseases must meet the same high standards for the demonstration of safety and efficacy as do those for more common diseases. The approval of the Orphan Drug Act in 1983 has resulted in many more resources for preclinical research, the standardization of patient registries, and the use of real-world data, among other measures, that, along with the advances in drug development, has resulted in the approval of therapies for some of the most unusual diseases. Increased attention to the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases has also accelerated the development of gene therapies that may offer significant amelioration and even cures for such diseases in the near future. Rare diseases disproportionately affect children, with severe and debilitating effects. Few effective treatments are available for most rare diseases. To avoid the unnecessary waste of data collected in studies of these patients, and to promote efficient drug development, there is a growing collaboration among patient communities, investigators, clinicians, sponsors, and regulatory authorities. All interested parties are working together to identify the most appropriate research questions and move quickly to make available safe and effective treatments. This article is a survey of the most commonly used regulatory remedies that have been put in place to serve as a framework for drug development in rare diseases.