In the United States, a disease must affect fewer than 200,000 people to be considered rare, but there are more than 8,000 known rare diseases. That leaves the chances of being diagnosed with a rare disease in the US at around 1 in 10, yet research and funding remain scarce. Rare diseases, commonly referred to as “orphan diseases,” are often overlooked. As a result, effective treatments exist for less than 5 percent of all rare diseases, leaving millions of people without viable options. ...
