On 28 August 2006, orphan designation (EU/3/06/401) was granted by the European Commission to ICON Clinical Research Limited, United Kingdom for N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate for the treatment of familial amyloid polyneuropathy.
The sponsorship was transferred to FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Limited, United Kingdom, in September 2009 and to Pfizer Limited, United Kingdom, in May 2012.
N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate has been authorised in the EU as Vyndaqel since 16 November 2011.
The sponsorship was transferred to Pfizer Europe MA EEIG, Belgium, in July 2018.
This medicine is now known as tafamidis.
Please note that this product was withdrawn from the Community Register of designated orphan medicinal products in November 2021 at the end of the 10-year period of market exclusivity.
Familial amyloid polyneuropathy is a hereditary (familial) disease caused by a defective gene that regulates the production of a protein called transthyretin, which is involved in the transport of various substances in the blood. Transthyretin is primarily produced in the liver. The normal form of transthyretin is a homotetramer (it is made up of four identical parts attached to each other). In affected patients, the protein is modified in a way that makes it break up and lose its function. The broken up parts of the initial protein then start accumulating and depositing in so-called amyloid structures in various tissues (including the nervous system) and eventually interfere with organ function. The primary symptom of the condition is progressive loss of neurological functions (polyneuropathy). Additionally, the eyes and kidneys can become affected. Familial amyloid polyneuropathy is chronically debilitating and life-threatening.
At the time of designation familial amyloid neuropathy affected less than 0.1 in 10,000 people in the European Union (EU). This was equivalent to a total of fewer than 4,600 people*, and is below the threshold for orphan designation, which is 5 people in 10,000. This is based on the information provided by the sponsor and knowledge of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP).
*Disclaimer: For the purpose of the designation, the number of patients affected by the condition is estimated and assessed on the basis of data from the European Union (EU 25), Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. At the time of designation, this represented a population of 464,200,000 (Eurostat 2004).
The only available treatment of the condition is liver transplantation; surgically removing the liver and replacing it with a liver from a donor that produces the healthy unmodified transthyretin. Satisfactory argumentation has been submitted by the sponsor to justify the assumption that N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate might be of potential significant benefit for the treatment of familial amyloid polyneuropathy, mainly because it has a new mechanism of action and may be used in patients for whom liver transplantation is unavailable. This assumption will have to be confirmed at the time of marketing authorisation. This will be necessary to maintain the orphan status.
N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate is a molecule designed to bind to and stabilise the transthyretin homotetramer. According to the sponsor, it will thus prevent the protein from breaking up and decrease the amount of harmful amyloid deposits in the organs of the affected patients.
The effects of N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate have been evaluated in experimental models. At the time of submission of the application for orphan designation, clinical trials in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy were ongoing.
N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate was not authorised anywhere worldwide for the treatment of familial amyloid polyneuropathy or designated as orphan medicinal product elsewhere for this condition, at the time of submission.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 141/2000 of 16 December 1999, the COMP adopted a positive opinion on 12 July 2006 recommending the granting of this designation.
Update: N-methyl D-(2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxy-hexyl) ammonium; 2-(3,5-dichloro-phenyl)-benzoxazole-6-carboxylate (Vyndaqel) was authorised in the EU on 16 November 2011 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis in adult patients with stage-1 symptomatic polyneuropathy to delay peripheral neurologic impairment.
Designated orphan medicinal products are products that are still under investigation and are considered for orphan designation on the basis of potential activity. An orphan designation is not a marketing authorisation. As a consequence, demonstration of quality, safety and efficacy is necessary before a product can be granted a marketing authorisation.
Pfizer Europe MA EEIG
The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products reviewed the orphan designation EU/3/06/401 for Vyndaqel (tafamidis) at the time of the change to the terms of the marketing authorisation and confirmed that the orphan designation should be maintained.
More information is available in the orphan medicine assessment report.
EMA publishes information on orphan medicinal product designation adopted by the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) on the IRIS online platform:
For contact details of patients’ organisations whose activities are targeted at rare diseases, see:
European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS), a non-governmental alliance of patient organisations and individuals active in the field of rare diseases.
Orphanet, a database containing information on rare diseases, which includes a directory of patients’ organisations registered in Europe.
The list of medicines that have received an orphan designation in the EU is available on the European Commission's website: