ABPI response to England Rare Diseases Action Plan

England's Rare Disease Action plan is published today with details of how to improve diagnosis, care and treatment of people with rare diseases in England. 

In response, ABPI's Director of Value and Access policy, Paul Catchpole said:  
 
"Today’s action plan for England contains welcome commitments to ensure that people with rare diseases get the fast diagnosis, better care and timely access to treatments they desperately need. Without that timely diagnosis, people can miss the window of opportunity for receiving available treatments. 
 
“Nearly 40% of the medicines now in development are for rare or very rare conditions, including many cell and gene therapies, so we very much welcome the commitments to help people get rapid access to them. We would urge all action plan delivery partners to work together, with industry, to make these plans a reality.  
 
“Together we can make a real difference to the lives of people with rare diseases and their families in England. We also look forward to supporting the other devolved nations plans so that patients from across the UK can consistently benefit from the ambition of the UK Rare Disease Framework."