Rare diseases on the political - and industry - agenda
This article was originally published in SRA
Executive Summary
The treatment of rare diseases is once again rising up the political agenda. In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Muscular Dystrophy has just warned that the recent decision to merge cash previously reserved for treating rare diseases into the overall budget for NHS services in England could result in rare conditions having to compete with more ordinary conditions for funding. This in turn could result in it becoming more difficult for patients to gain access to newer, more effective but more expensive treatments.