{"id":732547,"date":"2025-02-20T11:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T11:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/?p=732547"},"modified":"2025-02-20T11:14:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T11:14:01","slug":"iqure-pharma-zefits-partner-secures-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-dravet-syndrome-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/iqure-pharma-zefits-partner-secures-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-dravet-syndrome-treatment_732547.html","title":{"rendered":"iQure Pharma, Zefit\u2019s Partner, Secures FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Dravet Syndrome Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/upload\/2025\/02\/ee822e6c0f25e6d9022aa90499026098.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Feb 20, 2025 &#8211;<\/strong> The use of zebrafish-based preclinical trial data in drug development has become a significant milestone in securing Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Zefit&rsquo;s partner, iQure Pharma Inc. (iQure), announced that its drug candidate for Dravet Syndrome (DS) has been granted ODD status by the FDA.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zefit&rsquo;s zebrafish preclinical data played a pivotal role in the FDA&rsquo;s approval, highlighting the increasing importance of zebrafish models in drug development and regulatory approval processes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Zebrafish Preclinical Data Recognized as a Valid FDA-Approved Case Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Zefit is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) specializing in high-throughput preclinical screening and disease modeling using zebrafish models. The company provides fast and precise efficacy and safety assessments of drug candidates, offering a reliable and efficient alternative to traditional models.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During the FDA&#8217;s ODD approval process, Zefit&rsquo;s zebrafish preclinical data was officially recognized, reinforcing the scientific credibility of zebrafish models in regulatory pathways.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pawel Zolnierczyk, CEO of iQure Pharma, emphasized, <em>&ldquo;The FDA&rsquo;s Orphan Drug Designation is a critical milestone that brings our drug candidate closer to clinical trials. Zefit&rsquo;s preclinical research data played a significant role in regulatory evaluation.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/upload\/2025\/02\/c7e4c17e15c4d62b6fe01aefa3a4a757.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Zebrafish Models: A Key Platform in Drug Development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Compared to traditional mammalian models, zebrafish provide a more cost-effective, scalable, and rapid drug evaluation method. As a result, zebrafish models are increasingly recognized as an essential tool in preclinical drug discovery.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This case serves as strong evidence that zebrafish-based preclinical studies can be accepted and trusted by regulatory agencies&mdash;particularly in neurological disorder research and orphan drug development.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ki Baek Lee, CEO of Zefit, stated, <em>&ldquo;This achievement is highly significant as it marks an official recognition by the FDA of zebrafish-based preclinical testing as a reliable evaluation method. Moving forward, we aim to expand our collaborations with innovative biotech and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate drug development and facilitate the regulatory approval process for zebrafish models.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>FDA Orphan Drug Designation: Accelerating Clinical Trials for iQure&rsquo;s Drug Candidate<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FDA&rsquo;s Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) program provides various benefits to pharmaceutical companies, including market exclusivity, tax credits, and expedited regulatory reviews&mdash;key incentives designed to encourage the development of treatments for rare diseases such as Dravet Syndrome.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the FDA designation secured, iQure&#8217;s drug candidate is now preparing to enter clinical trials. This regulatory milestone is expected to accelerate its research, development, and commercialization processes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ultimately, this FDA approval reinforces the role of zebrafish-based preclinical research as a valuable and credible evaluation model in drug development and regulatory approvals.<\/p>\n<p><span style='font-size:18px !important;'>Media Contact<\/span><br \/><strong>Company Name:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/companyname\/zefit.co.kr_152364.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Zefit Inc.<\/a><br \/><strong>Contact Person:<\/strong> James Kang<br \/><strong>Email:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/email_contact_us.php?pr=iqure-pharma-zefits-partner-secures-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-dravet-syndrome-treatment\" rel=\"nofollow\">Send Email<\/a><br \/><strong>Phone:<\/strong> +82-53-716-0816<br \/><strong>Country:<\/strong> South Korea<br \/><strong>Website:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zefit.co.kr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.zefit.co.kr<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/press_stat.php?pr=iqure-pharma-zefits-partner-secures-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-dravet-syndrome-treatment\" alt=\"\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feb 20, 2025 &#8211; The use of zebrafish-based preclinical trial data in drug development has become a significant milestone in securing Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Zefit&rsquo;s partner, iQure Pharma Inc. (iQure), announced &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/iqure-pharma-zefits-partner-secures-fda-orphan-drug-designation-for-dravet-syndrome-treatment_732547.html\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[412,423,403,404,416],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-732547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-News-Current-Affairs","category-Professional-Services","category-UK","category-US","category-World"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abnewswire.com\/pressreleases\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}