Orphan Diseases

An orphan disease is a very rare disorder occurring in less than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or less than 5 per 10,000 individuals in the European Union. Most rare diseases are genetic, and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, and are often passed on to other family members.  At ViroPharma, despite the rarity of the diseases and the small number of people living with them, we believe that these patients deserve the same hope for therapeutic options as patients suffering from far more common afflictions.

According to a 2008 NORD survey, 68 percent of patients with a rare disorder took more than 3 months to be diagnosed after the first visit; 36 percent remained undiagnosed after a year, and one in seven patients remain undiagnosed for more than 6 years. Nearly half (42%) of these patients are prevented from working, with 77% reporting that their rare disease has caused them and their family a financial burden. We are highly motivated by the plight and needs of these patients. As an example, we are today helping to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema – a rare genetic inflammatory disease affecting approximately 1 in 40,000 people – in patients living with this disease.