EffRx Pharmaceuticals, Medis, Orpharm, OrphanDC, and Vector Pharma, announced today the newly formed World Orphan Drug Alliance (WODA). WODA aims to provide comprehensive support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies with rare diseases, oncology and highly specialized therapeutics portfolio, starting from named patient programs through to full commercialization.

By bringing together experts for rare diseases, WODA has capabilities to provide all the services necessary for orphan medicines to reach patients in need, replacing local branches of global distributors or multinational companies.

“Under WODA alliance we are offering future partners the opportunity to cover our entire territory or cherry pick the territories they require, while using local teams in each territory with the local knowledge and skill set in the therapeutic area we cover,” commented Vector Pharma Managing Director Samer Semaan. “Due to our flexible setup, we have the ability to adjust to partners’ needs instantaneously and provide a tailored solution.”

In total, WODA covers 68 countries in the following regions: Turkey, Middle East and North Africa, Russia and CIS region, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Switzerland.

“WODA focuses on the markets, that are complex and often overlooked by big pharmaceutical and biotech companies. However, WODA territories provide both, a pool of patients in need and potential funding opportunities for rare and specialized diseases. There are potentially more than 64 million rare disease patients in the WODA regions,” adds Martina Perharič, Medis CEO.