Open AccessDrug Discovery and Development in Rare Diseases: Taking a Closer Look at the Tafamidis Story
Author(s) -
Arianna Burton,
Adam Castaño,
Marianna Bruno,
Steve Riley,
Jennifer Schumacher,
Marla B. Sultan,
Sandi See Tai,
Daniel P. Judge,
Jignesh Patel,
Jeffery W. Kelly
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
drug design, development and therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.964
H-Index - 64
ISSN - 1177-8881
DOI - 10.2147/dddt.s289772
Subject(s) - transthyretin , amyloidosis , medicine , incentive , drug development , drug discovery , disease , intensive care medicine , drug , bioinformatics , pharmacology , biology , economics , microeconomics
Rare diseases are increasingly recognized as a global public health priority. Governments worldwide currently provide important incentives to stimulate the discovery and development of orphan drugs for the treatment of these conditions, but substantial scientific, clinical, and regulatory challenges remain. Tafamidis is a first-in-class, disease-modifying transthyretin (TTR) kinetic stabilizer that represents a major breakthrough in the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis). ATTR amyloidosis is a rare, progressive, and fatal systemic disorder caused by aggregation of misfolded TTR and extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils in various tissues and organs, including the heart and nervous systems. In this review, we present the successful development of tafamidis spanning 3 decades, marked by meticulous laboratory research into disease mechanisms and natural history, and innovative clinical study design and implementation. These efforts established the safety and efficacy profile of tafamidis, leading to its regulatory approval, and enabled post-approval initiatives that further support patients with ATTR amyloidosis.