orphan drug

noun

A medicinal drug which is effective in the treatment of some disease(s), but which is not manufactured or marketed because the demand is insufficient to cover the costs of supply.

“Tragically, her disease is so rare that the only effective medicine is an orphan drug.”

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Meanings

nounorphan drug (plural orphan drugs)

plural orphan drugs

  1. A medicinal drug which is effective in the treatment of some disease(s), but which is not manufactured or marketed because the demand is insufficient to cover the costs of supply.

    Tragically, her disease is so rare that the only effective medicine is an orphan drug.

  2. USlawA drug as defined under the Orphan Drug Act (1983).

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 孤兒藥 /孤儿药
  • 孤兒藥 /孤儿药 (gū'éryào)Translations
Dutch weesgeneesmiddel
  • weesgeneesmiddelTranslations
Finnish orpolääke
  • orpolääkeTranslations
French médicament orphelin
  • médicament orphelinTranslations
German Orphan-Arzneimittel
  • Orphan-ArzneimittelTranslations
Greek ορφανό φάρμακο
  • ορφανό φάρμακο (orfanó fármako)Translations
Italian farmaco orfano
  • farmaco orfanoTranslations
Japanese 希少疾病用医薬品
  • 希少疾病用医薬品Translations
Portuguese medicamento órfão
  • medicamento órfãoTranslations
Romanian medicament orfan
  • medicament orfanTranslations
Russian орфанные препараты
  • орфанные препараты (orfannyje preparaty)Translations
Spanish medicamento huérfano
  • medicamento huérfanoTranslations
Swedish särläkemedel
  • särläkemedelTranslations
Turkish yetim ilaç
  • yetim ilaçTranslations
Vietnamese thuốc mồ côi
  • thuốc mồ côiTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

orphan drug. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orphan%20drug

MLA

“orphan drug.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orphan%20drug. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “orphan drug,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orphan%20drug.

Source: orphan drug on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.