8 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla ; Supported by Grants from the Comitato Telethon Fondazione Onlus, the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato, the city of Gubbio, Italy (grant numbers GGP06209 and GGP10121), the Italian Ministry of Health ('Identification of tumor biomarkers through a biologydriven integrated approach'), and the Spanish and the Valencian Governments (grants BFU2011-30407 and Prometeo II/2014/029, respectively). NG holds a contract of CIBERER. ; Peer reviewed
Background: Orphan drugs are used for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of rare diseases that, in the European Union, are defined as disorders affecting no more than 5 persons in 10,000. So far, a total of around 800 orphan medicinal products have been approved by the European Medicines Agency, however the utilization profile of orphan drugs has yet to be explored. This study aimed at assessing the utilization profile of orphan drugs authorized for marketing by the Italian Medicines Agency using population-based data. Methods: A total of 21 orphan drugs used in outpatient settings, approved in the European Union before or during the 2008–2018 period and involving 15 rare diseases, were included in the study. The monitored population included patients with one of the conditions surveilled by the population-based Tuscany Registry of Rare Diseases and diagnosed between 2000–2018. A multi-database approach was applied, by linking data from the registry with information collected in drug prescriptions databases. The prevalence and intensity of use were estimated for the selected orphan drugs and other non-orphan medications, used to treat the same rare disease and for which a change in the prevalence of use was hypothesized after authorization of the orphan drug. Results: For some diseases (acquired aplastic anemia, tuberous sclerosis complex, most metabolic diseases) a low prevalence of orphan drugs use was observed (range between 1.1–12.5%). Conversely, orphan drugs were frequently used in hemophilia B, Wilson disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (maximum of 78.3, 47.6 and 41.8%, respectively). For hemophilia B and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, there are currently no other medications used in clinical practice in addition to orphan drugs. Six orphan drugs were used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, appearing the elective therapy for this disease, albeit with different utilization profiles (range of prevalence 1.7–55.6%). Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the ...
Background: MetabERN is one of the 24 European Reference Networks created according to the European Union directive 2011/24/EU on patient's rights in cross border healthcare. MetabERN associates 69 centres in 18 countries, which provide care for patients with Hereditary Metabolic Diseases, and have the mission to reinforce research and provide training for health professionals in this field. MetabERN performed a survey in December 2017 with the aim to produce an overview documenting research activities and potentials within the network. As the centres are multidisciplinary, separated questionnaires were sent to the clinical, university and laboratory teams. Answers were received from 52 out of the 69 centres of the network, covering 16 countries. A descriptive analysis of the information collected is presented. Results: The answers indicate a marked interest of the respondents for research, who expressed high motivation and commitment, and estimated that the conditions to do research in their institution were mostly satisfactory. They are active in research, which according to several indicators, is competitive and satisfies standards of excellence, as well as the education programs offered in the respondent's universities. Research in the centres is primarily performed in genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology, and focuses on issues related to diagnosis. Few respondents declared having activity in human and social sciences, including research on patient's quality of life, patient's awareness, or methods for social support. Infrastructures offering services for medical research were rarely known and used by respondents, including national and international biobanking platforms. In contrast, respondents often participate to patient registries, even beyond their specific field of interest. Conclusions: Taken as a whole, these results provide an encouraging picture of the research capacities and activities in the MetabERN network, which, with respect to the number and representativeness of the investigated centres, gives a comprehensive picture of research on Hereditary Metabolic Diseases in Europe, as well as the priorities for future actions. Marginal activity in human and social sciences points out the limited multidisciplinary constitution of the responding teams with possible consequences on their current capability to participate to patient's empowerment programs and efficiently collaborate with patient's advocacy groups.
In: Heard , J-M , Bellettato , C , van Lingen , C , Scarpa , M , Debray , F-G , Nassogne , M-C C , van Coster , R , de Meirleir , L , Eyskens , F , Morava , E , Baric , I , Kozich , V , Lund , A M , Germain , D , Belmatoug , N , Guffon , N , Labrune , P , Gouya , L , de Lonlay , P , Schiff , M , Dobbelaere , D , Chabrol , B , Das , A M , Spiekerkoetter , U , Rutsch , F , Ploeckinger , U , Mohnike , K , Hahn , A , Kölker , S , Ullrich , K , Balogh , I , Bembi , B , Donati , M A , Gasperini , S , Parenti , G , Salviati , A , Vici , C-D , di Rocco , M , Cefalo , G , Burlina , A , Ceccarini , G , Federico , A , van der Ploeg , A , Rubio-Gozalbo , M-E , van Spronsen , F , Visser , G , Bosch , A , Tangeraas , T , Sanderberg , S , Kieć-Wilk , B , Gaspar , A-M S M , Martins , E , Silva , E-M F R , de Abreu Freire Diogo Matos , L-M , Azevedo , O , Tansek , M-Z , Couce-Pico , M-L , Cazorla , A G , Azuara , L A-E , del Toro-Riera , M , Lajic , S , Darin , N , Deegan , P , Vijaym , S , Chronopoulou , E , Jones , S , Chakrapani , A & Hiwot , T 2019 , ' Research activity and capability in the European reference network MetabERN ' , Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases , vol. 14 , no. 1 , 119 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-019-1091-8
Background: MetabERN is one of the 24 European Reference Networks created according to the European Union directive 2011/24/EU on patient's rights in cross border healthcare. MetabERN associates 69 centres in 18 countries, which provide care for patients with Hereditary Metabolic Diseases, and have the mission to reinforce research and provide training for health professionals in this field. MetabERN performed a survey in December 2017 with the aim to produce an overview documenting research activities and potentials within the network. As the centres are multidisciplinary, separated questionnaires were sent to the clinical, university and laboratory teams. Answers were received from 52 out of the 69 centres of the network, covering 16 countries. A descriptive analysis of the information collected is presented. Results: The answers indicate a marked interest of the respondents for research, who expressed high motivation and commitment, and estimated that the conditions to do research in their institution were mostly satisfactory. They are active in research, which according to several indicators, is competitive and satisfies standards of excellence, as well as the education programs offered in the respondent's universities. Research in the centres is primarily performed in genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology, and focuses on issues related to diagnosis. Few respondents declared having activity in human and social sciences, including research on patient's quality of life, patient's awareness, or methods for social support. Infrastructures offering services for medical research were rarely known and used by respondents, including national and international biobanking platforms. In contrast, respondents often participate to patient registries, even beyond their specific field of interest. Conclusions: Taken as a whole, these results provide an encouraging picture of the research capacities and activities in the MetabERN network, which, with respect to the number and representativeness of the investigated centres, gives a comprehensive picture of research on Hereditary Metabolic Diseases in Europe, as well as the priorities for future actions. Marginal activity in human and social sciences points out the limited multidisciplinary constitution of the responding teams with possible consequences on their current capability to participate to patient's empowerment programs and efficiently collaborate with patient's advocacy groups.