Amicus and WuXi Biologics aim at China's rare disease market

Rare diseases had long been ignored in China until very recently. In May, China’s Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) drafted a policy to accelerate the approval process for innovative medical devices and drugs, including those for rare diseases, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent Wang Fangqing.

The same month, Sanofi’s (Euronext: SAN) China subsidiary launched Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa; Lumizyme in the USA), a treatment for Pompe disease launched outside China a decade ago.

All sounds very encouraging for another Pompe treatment candidate ATB200, an alfa glucosidase enzyme from Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD), the New Jersey, USA-based biotech company targeting rare disease treatments.