Company: ARWR
Filing Date: 2025-11-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000879407-25-000029
Chunk: 41

Company: ARROWHEAD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-11-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 41
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 FDA may seek to prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of post-market studies or surveillance programs. Some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval. 

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan drug designation to a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United States a drug for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug. Orphan drug designation entitles the applicant to incentives such as grant funding towards clinical study costs, tax advantages, and waivers of FDA user fees. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA, and both the drug and the disease or condition must meet certain criteria specified in the Orphan Drug Act and FDA’s regulations. The granting of an orphan drug designation does not alter the standard regulatory requirements and process for obtaining marketing approval. Safety and effectiveness of a drug must be established through adequate and well-controlled studies. 

After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the 

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FDA may not approve any other application to market the same drug for the same indication, except in very limited circumstances, for seven years. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition.

The FDA’s interpretation of the scope of orphan drug exclusivity may change. The FDA’s longstanding interpretation of the Orphan Drug Act is that exclusivity is specific to the orphan indication for which the drug was actually approved. As a result, the scope of exclusivity has been narrow and protected only against competition from the same “use or indication” rather than the broader “disease or condition.” Recent court decisions have created uncertainty in the application and interpretation of orphan drug exclusivity, which may limit the drugs that can receive orphan drug exclusivity. 

Expedited Review and Accelerated Approval Programs