Recent surveys showed that those living with rare diseases had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety and depression compared to the general population. Levels of high stress can become even worse for carers when the person they are supporting has a diagnosis with no available treatment option.
Monique Nel, Medical Advisor - Rare Diseases at Sanofi says: “Sanofi has been dedicated to researching and developing innovative treatments for rare diseases for 40 years. Currently, Sanofi has one of the largest rare diseases pipelines in the industry, across multiple diseases and modalities.”
“Our rare disease patient registries have grown to represent one of the largest collections of real-world data for rare diseases collected over the past 30 years. We have a presence in 68 countries worldwide, with more than 920 participating sites and more than 17,800 patients enrolled.”
These registries have helped researchers to publish studies describing the underlying biology of disease, identify risk factors impacting treatment outcomes, and share guidelines for monitoring and treatment.
A further useful resource for HCPs and patients is the list of rare diseases maintained by the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) of the US National Institutes of Health.8
Says Nel: “We understand the difficulty that healthcare professionals face when it comes to patient diagnosis of a rare disease, and that a coordinated approach to diagnosis and care for people living with rare diseases is needed. Rare diseases deserve the same amount of time, resources and dedication to finding effective treatments and therapies as any other conditions, which is a mission that Sanofi strives to promote every day, to help HCPs to improve diagnosis."
