https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.12698
Disease for which drug research, development, and marketing is economically unfavourable.
Notes:
- The poor commercial environment could be due to a lack of economic incentives or a lack of understanding of the diseases or a combination of both.
- Sometimes the term "rare disease" is used synonymously with orphan disease, although there is a slight difference. For example, a rare disease is so uncommon that there is no drug development effort.
- Which diseases are classified as orphan depends strongly on the country that classifies it. In the United States, for example, any disease affecting less than \(\pu{200000}\) people is considered an orphan or rare disease. Europe and countries such as Japan, Australia, and Singapore have a different definition.
See also: neglected disease, orphan drug