These are drugs or biological products for diagnosis/treatment/ prevention of a rare disease or condition, or a more common disease (endemic only in resource poor countries or areas) for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and marketing it will be recovered from the sales of that drug.

these drugs may be life saving for some patients, they are commercially difficult to obtain as a medicinal product. Governments in developed countries offer tax benefits and other incentives to pharmaceutical companies for developing and marketing orphan drugs.

Few examples of drugs granted ‘Orphan Drug’ status are listed below

1. Azacitidine
2. Icatibant
   Bevacizumab
3. Iloprost
   Bortezomib
4. Nilotinib
5. Busulfan
6. Paromomycin
7. Carboprost
8. Rifaximin
   Clofazimine
9. Rituximab
10. Colchicine
11. Sodium stibogluconate
12. Eltrombopag
13. Sodium thiosulfate
14. Fomivirsen
15. ThioTEPA