FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Ionis Pharmaceuticals' IONIS-HTT Rx for treatment of HD patients

Jan 5 2016

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to IONIS-HTT_Rx for the treatment of patients with Huntington's disease (HD). IONIS-HTT_Rx is the first therapy to enter clinical development that is designed to directly target the cause of the disease by reducing the production of the protein responsible for HD. IONIS-HTT_Rx has also been granted orphan drug designation by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of patients with HD.

"HD is a rare genetic neurological disease in which patients experience deterioration of both mental abilities and physical control. Although the toxic protein produced from the huntingtin (HTT) gene in HD patients has been a target of interest for many years, IONIS-HTT_Rx is the first therapy to enter clinical development that is designed to treat the underlying cause of this fatal disease. The granting of Orphan Drug Designation in both the US and Europe highlights the significant need for a drug that could transform the treatment of HD," said C. Frank Bennett, Ph.D., senior vice president of research at Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

The Orphan Drug Act provides for economic incentives to encourage the development of drugs for diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan drug designation entitles seven years of market exclusivity in the United States if market approval is granted for IONIS-HTT_Rx for the treatment of patients with HD. Additional incentives include tax credits related to clinical trial expenses, an exemption from the FDA-user fee, and FDA assistance in clinical trial design.