Today, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization released a poll that shows voters overwhelmingly support the ORPHAN Cures Act, a recently introduced bill that would incentivize rare disease drug development.
The ORPHAN Cures Act would fix a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that punishes biopharmaceutical companies for discovering multiple rare disease applications for the same medicine. Of the more than 280 orphan drugs approved since 2003, nearly a quarter were later approved to treat additional diseases.
According to the survey, 94% of American voters think it's important for scientists to search for rare disease treatments, while 85% agree it is critical for the government to "expand incentives for rare disease drug development."
"Americans clearly want our best and brightest scientists working on rare disease treatments,"said BIO CEO Rachel King. "This bill is a beacon of hope for the 30 million Americans suffering from rare diseases." 1
Nearly 80% of American voters agree that the federal government shouldn't prevent scientists from researching treatments for multiple rare diseases. Additionally, almost 70 percent would support their congressional representatives voting for the ORPHAN Cures Act -- and nearly 40 percent would "strongly support" this (only 5 percent oppose; with 14 percent having no opinion or don’t know).
"Right now, 95% of rare diseases have no FDA-approved treatment. As this poll shows, Americans want lawmakers to incentivize the scientific pursuit of these much-needed treatments," added King.
The poll, conducted by Morning Consult, surveyed 1,990 registered voters between November 23 and November 25, 2023. Results have a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Click here to view the full results of the poll.
About BIO: BIO is the world's largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
