What is an orphan disease?

Answer 1

The NIH's Office of Rare Diseases states that, "an orphan or rare disease is generally considered to have a prevalence of fewer than 200,000 affected individuals in the United States"

Answer 2

Orphan disease: A disease which has not been "adopted" by the pharmaceutical industry because it provides little financial incentive for the private sector to make and market new medications to treat or prevent it.

An orphan disease may be:

A rare disease. According to US criteria, an orphan disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people. (There are more than 5,000 such rare disorders.)
A common disease that has been ignored (such as tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid, and malaria) because it is far more prevalent in developing countries than in the developed world.

Answer 3

It doesn't get the attention of drug company researchers because not enough people suffer from the disease to make it profitable to develop and sell a cure.

Answer 4

It is a disease that does not get attention from drug companies and medical researchers.

Answer 5

orphan desease: any rare health disorder for which no has been developed.