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Review
. 2012 Feb;1(1):3-9.
doi: 10.5582/irdr.2012.v1.1.3.

Rare diseases, orphan drugs, and their regulation in Asia: Current status and future perspectives

Peipei Song  1 , Jianjun Gao  1 , Yoshinori Inagaki  1 , Norihiro Kokudo  1 , Wei Tang  1
Affiliations
Review

Rare diseases, orphan drugs, and their regulation in Asia: Current status and future perspectives

Peipei Song et al. Intractable Rare Dis Res. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Rare diseases are an important public health issue and a challenge to medical care. Specific legislation to encourage research of rare diseases and development of orphan drugs has been adopted in the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and elsewhere. In recent years, much progress has been made in some parts of Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, with the enactment of legislation and accompanying regulation of rare diseases and orphan drugs. China is also actively promoting the regulation of rare diseases and orphan drugs. We describe the current status of the regulation of rare diseases and orphan drugs in Asia and we comparatively analyze the regulation of rare diseases and orphan drugs worldwide in order to examine the challenges to and future perspectives on promoting research on rare diseases and development of orphan drugs in China and other Asian countries.

Keywords: Orphan diseases; incentives; legislation; orphan drugs; reimbursement.

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References

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