From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases: Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries
Introduction Almost 8,000 rare diseases exist worldwide, affecting approximately 350 million people. Nevertheless, only 5% receive a specific authorized or licensed treatment. The need for effective and rapidly available therapies is still unmet for many patients. Objective The objective is to defin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Medicine Access @ Point of Care |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5301/maapoc.0000016 |
| _version_ | 1818303425987739648 |
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| author | Paola Minghetti Elena P. Lanati Josie Godfrey Oriol Solà-Morales Olivier Wong Sonia Selletti |
| author_facet | Paola Minghetti Elena P. Lanati Josie Godfrey Oriol Solà-Morales Olivier Wong Sonia Selletti |
| author_sort | Paola Minghetti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Almost 8,000 rare diseases exist worldwide, affecting approximately 350 million people. Nevertheless, only 5% receive a specific authorized or licensed treatment. The need for effective and rapidly available therapies is still unmet for many patients. Objective The objective is to define repurposing versus off-label drugs, and to evaluate pathways of repurposed drugs for rare non-oncological diseases in Italy, France, England, and Spain (the EU4 countries). Methods This original paper is based on 3 research activities: (i) a nonsystematic literature research; (ii) a questionnaire-based survey to regulatory experts; and (iii) research on approval timelines and therapy prices of repurposed non-oncology orphan drugs. Official approval dates in England are not available if the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not appraise the products. Results Only France provides a specific adaptive pathway from off-label to repurposed drugs. Pricing and reimbursement assessment for the drug samples varied across the EU4 countries: time-to-market for repurposed drugs versus new drugs is longer in all analyzed countries; that is, 979 days versus 462 days in Italy, 502 days versus 350 days in France, and 624 versus 378 days in Spain. Repurposed drugs have higher success rates from development to approval than novel drugs (30% vs. 11%). Small- and medium-sized enterprises owned 9 of 12 repurposed non-oncology orphan drugs, of which only 4 were reimbursed in all EU4 countries. Prices were more homogeneous across EU4 although the reimbursement rates were different. Conclusions Drug repurposing represents a great opportunity to treat rare non-oncological diseases. However, a more homogenous assessment across EU4 could ensure reimbursement and prices high enough to reward organizations investing in this field. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:54:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c047b58bea7f4217b3d7835ed55e2694 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2399-2026 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:54:36Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicine Access @ Point of Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-c047b58bea7f4217b3d7835ed55e26942022-12-21T23:57:28ZengSAGE PublishingMedicine Access @ Point of Care2399-20262017-01-01110.5301/maapoc.0000016From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases: Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU CountriesPaola Minghetti0Elena P. Lanati1Josie Godfrey2Oriol Solà-Morales3Olivier Wong4Sonia Selletti5 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Milan - Italy MA Provider Srl, Milan - Italy JG Zebra Consulting Ltd, Hampshire - UK Health Innovation Technology Transfer, Barcelona - Spain Mediqualité Omega SARL, Paris - France Studio Legale Astolfi e Associati, Milan - ItalyIntroduction Almost 8,000 rare diseases exist worldwide, affecting approximately 350 million people. Nevertheless, only 5% receive a specific authorized or licensed treatment. The need for effective and rapidly available therapies is still unmet for many patients. Objective The objective is to define repurposing versus off-label drugs, and to evaluate pathways of repurposed drugs for rare non-oncological diseases in Italy, France, England, and Spain (the EU4 countries). Methods This original paper is based on 3 research activities: (i) a nonsystematic literature research; (ii) a questionnaire-based survey to regulatory experts; and (iii) research on approval timelines and therapy prices of repurposed non-oncology orphan drugs. Official approval dates in England are not available if the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not appraise the products. Results Only France provides a specific adaptive pathway from off-label to repurposed drugs. Pricing and reimbursement assessment for the drug samples varied across the EU4 countries: time-to-market for repurposed drugs versus new drugs is longer in all analyzed countries; that is, 979 days versus 462 days in Italy, 502 days versus 350 days in France, and 624 versus 378 days in Spain. Repurposed drugs have higher success rates from development to approval than novel drugs (30% vs. 11%). Small- and medium-sized enterprises owned 9 of 12 repurposed non-oncology orphan drugs, of which only 4 were reimbursed in all EU4 countries. Prices were more homogeneous across EU4 although the reimbursement rates were different. Conclusions Drug repurposing represents a great opportunity to treat rare non-oncological diseases. However, a more homogenous assessment across EU4 could ensure reimbursement and prices high enough to reward organizations investing in this field.https://doi.org/10.5301/maapoc.0000016 |
| spellingShingle | Paola Minghetti Elena P. Lanati Josie Godfrey Oriol Solà-Morales Olivier Wong Sonia Selletti From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases: Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries Medicine Access @ Point of Care |
| title | From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases:
Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries |
| title_full | From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases:
Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries |
| title_fullStr | From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases:
Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases:
Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries |
| title_short | From Off-Label to Repurposed Drug in Non-Oncological Rare Diseases:
Definition and State of the Art in Selected EU Countries |
| title_sort | from off label to repurposed drug in non oncological rare diseases definition and state of the art in selected eu countries |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5301/maapoc.0000016 |
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