An analysis was performed on a data set of 157 orphan designated medicines with an outcome for marketing authorisation application (MAA) between 2000 and 2013. The intention was to understand the factors associated with marketing authorisation success, the challenges developers face regarding orphan medicine development, and how scientific advice (SA) is used during development. The results demonstrated that orphan medicines have a lower success rate compared with non-orphan medicines and that determinants for marketing authorisation success were company size and compliance with SA. Compliance with SA could help orphan medicine developers overcome clinical development challenges.
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