Definition of orphan drug
: a drug that is not developed or marketed because its extremely limited use makes it unprofitable
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Congress approved orphan drug incentives to encourage the development of medicines for rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 patients.
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Congress approved orphan drug incentives to encourage the development of medicines for rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 patients.
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Drug makers are seeking a record amount of orphan drug designations from the Food and Drug Administration to help patients with diseases that affect a small percentage of the population.
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Today, orphan drugs often carry six-figure price tags and pharmaceutical companies readily develop them.
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About 450 orphan drugs have been approved by the FDA.
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Some drugmakers, such as Janssen Pharmaceuticals, have voluntarily offered discounts to rural hospitals on all of their orphan drugs including Remicade, whether they’re approved or designated.
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Another very exciting area would be orphan drugs, for those illnesses that only a few people have.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'orphan drug.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of orphan drug
1981
Medical Dictionary
orphan drug
medical Definition of orphan drug
: a drug that is not developed or marketed because its extremely limited use (as in the treatment of a rare disease) makes it unprofitable
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