Introduction to Canada's Progress Toward an Orphan Drug Framework: 2014

Abstract

n October 2012, the Government of Canada announced its orphan drug initiative, intended to address the needs of an underserved population of patients – Canadians living with rare diseases. A rare disease or disorder is a serious health condition that affects a very small number of patients – less than 1 in 2000 in the general population. Although the number of patients affected by each disease is small, a large number of different rare diseases have been identified, so there are a significant number of Canadians who will benefit from the initiatives that Government of Canada is undertaking.