The International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) has uploaded an enlightening report which includes extensive information on the major developments across the globe in the field of rare diseases. The content of this report will be useful for any stakeholder whether it is to support decisions of policy makers and research funders, or educate the rare diseases community at large of the achievements and of observed trends which shape the future of research and development for rare diseases.

The report has been compiled by means of a systematic survey of published articles, between July 2014 and June 2015, in scientific journals and press releases. It identifies several major policy initiatives that were taken during this period notably, the funding provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Genome Canada to study models and molecular mechanisms of rare diseases, the joint proposal of the EMA and the FDA on research for new Gaucher disease medication, among others. The report highlights the guidelines and recommendations that are likely to benefit rare disease research. The report also published the outcomes of previous major initiatives such as FORGE, Deciphering Developmental Disorders, FDA’s Orphan Products Grants Program and EMA’s adaptive licensing pilot project. The report also describes useful databases such as Linked2Safety, ClinRegs and ClinGen. It highlights trends that will significantly impact rare disease patients such as involving patients at the EMA for discussions on benefit/risk assessment, importance of patient reported outcomes, among others.

More information: IRDiRC State of Play report [PDF], Orphanews