Deletion. (Science: genetics) a chromosome abnormality in which part of a single chromosome has been lost. Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page. This page was last modified on 3 October 2005, at 21:16.This page has been accessed 49,284 times. What links here | Related changes | Permanent link.
A decade earlier, only 13 therapies were recognized as orphan treatments. Worldwide sales of orphan drugs amounted to less than $20 billion in 2000, but by 2020 are forecast to cost $176 billion, according to EvaluatePharma, a market research firm. By that year, the money spent on orphan drugs will account for about 19 percent of the worldâs total drug expense. Orphan drugs treat diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States and cost an average of $137,000 a year. And treatments for so-called ultra-rare diseases, like the disorder that Synageva targets, generally cost much more.
Still, much more remains to be. done because there are no treatments for the vast majority of rare diseases. The Orphan Drug Act of 1983 provides incentives for drug companies to develop. treatments for rare diseases.