Seattle Genetics said its SGN-35 drug candidate for Hodgkin’s disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma has received orphan drug designation from regulators in Europe. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) has also added the designation for anaplastic large cell lymphoma in the U.S., after previously securing that status for Hodgkin’s in the U.S. The designation is designed to encourage companies to develop treatments for rare diseases, by offering a seven-year marketing monopoly in the U.S. and 10 years in Europe if the drug is approved.
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
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