FDA Grants Soligenix Orphan Drug Designation for the Treatment of Behçet's Disease after Reviewing Recent Phase 2 Clinical Study Results

Core Insights - Soligenix, Inc. has received orphan drug designation from the FDA for dusquetide, the active ingredient in SGX945, for the treatment of Behçet's Disease, which provides seven years of market exclusivity upon final approval [1][2][3] Group 1: Orphan Drug Designation - The U.S. Orphan Drug Act aims to encourage the development of therapies for rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. [2] - Orphan drug designation offers financial and regulatory benefits, including government grants for clinical trials and waivers of FDA user fees [2] Group 2: Behçet's Disease Overview - Behçet's Disease affects approximately 18,000 people in the U.S., 50,000 in Europe, and up to 1 million worldwide, representing a significant unmet medical need [3][10] - The disease is characterized by symptoms such as mouth sores, skin rashes, genital sores, and eye inflammation, severely impacting patients' quality of life [9][11] Group 3: Dusquetide's Mechanism and Efficacy - Dusquetide is an innate defense regulator (IDR) that modulates the immune response to promote anti-inflammatory and tissue healing effects [4] - In a Phase 2a study, dusquetide showed a 40% improvement in the number of ulcers compared to placebo, which is comparable to the 37% improvement seen with apremilast [6] Group 4: Clinical Study Results - Dusquetide demonstrated safety and tolerability in a Phase 1 study with 84 healthy volunteers and positive efficacy in over 350 subjects with oral mucositis due to chemoradiation therapy [5] - The Phase 2a study for Behçet's Disease indicated that SGX945 was well-tolerated with no treatment-related adverse events, unlike common side effects associated with apremilast [7][6] Group 5: Intellectual Property and Development - Soligenix holds a strong intellectual property position for the IDR technology platform, including composition of matter for dusquetide [8] - The company is also developing other products, including HyBryte™ for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and SGX942 for oral mucositis [12]