FDA grants orphan drug designation for drug to treat pain of erythromelalgia

A pain treatment is one step closer to targeting the rare disease erythromelalgia.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an orphan drug designation for XEN402, which would be used as a pain treatment in patients with erythromelalgia.
Orphan drug designation is granted by the FDA Office of Orphan Drug Products to novel treatments for rare diseases that affect less than 200,000 people in the US.
Dr Michael Hayden, chief scientific officer for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, welcomed the FDA's decision.
He said: "Through the development of this drug, we hope to address the significant unmet medical need for patients who suffer from chronic pain related to erythromelalgia."
The rare disease is characterised by spontaneous attacks of burning pain in the patient's feet and hands and is typically associated with a rise in skin temperature and redness of the skin.
According to a statement from Xenon Pharmaceuticals - a rare disease company - the pain can be so severe that it leads to suicide.