Developing therapeutics for rare cardiovascular diseases.

Rare cardiovascular diseases, while individually uncommon, collectively affect millions of people worldwide and are associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. Despite this considerable impact, most rare cardiovascular diseases lack approved treatments. Developing therapies for rare cardiovascular diseases requires overcoming a unique set of challenges. This includes barriers to accurate patient diagnosis (and therefore to trial cohort generation), small cohort sizes, the choice of effective clinical trial endpoints, unique ethical and regulatory concerns, and the often-substantial costs of such therapies (which may limit public access to treatment). Despite such challenges, the past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the successful development of rare cardiovascular disease therapies. This review provides an overview of the challenges, while also highlighting potential strategies to advance the field.

Duke Scholars

Author Joseph Buckley Lerman Medicine, Cardiology

Author Adrian Felipe Hernandez Medicine, Cardiology

Author Gary Michael Felker Medicine, Cardiology

Author Dwight D. Koeberl Pediatrics, Medical Genetics