Pharma execs speak out against 'misuse' of Orphan status as another old therapy sees a price hike

Responding to Belcher Pharmaceuticals' use of the Orphan Drug pathway to support price hikes on an old drug, a group of pharma CEOs have raised concerns in an open letter that this type of behavior could compromise the Orphan Drug Act.

"In our view, seven years of exclusivity based on existing published research and knowledge is a misuse of the ODA, and serves as new fodder for the arguments around fair and equitable drug pricing by biopharma companies," the authors of Wednesday's letter wrote. "It also potentially could compromise the ODA itself, harming the Act’s ability to deliver enormous benefits to patients with rare diseases."...