Regulatory sandboxes: A new frontier for rare disease therapies

Regulatory sandboxes have emerged as an innovative mechanism to facilitate the development and approval of new technologies, including pharmaceuticals. Their application in the context of rare disease therapies presents a promising avenue to accelerate the development, approval, and access to disease-modifying and life-saving therapies. Given the complexities of rare diseases and the regulatory hurdles faced by orphan medicinal products, regulatory sandboxes offer a structured yet flexible environment where new regulatory approaches can be tested and refined.

publication

Year of publication

2025

Author

Galliano Zanello , Violeta Stoyanova-Beninska , Oxana Iliach , Daniel Scherman , Samantha Parker , David A. Pearce

You might also be interested in

October 2 @ 10:00 am - 5:15 pm
On 13 November 2026 in Dublin, Ireland, this event will explore how research, innovation, patient partnership and EU policy can improve rare disease care and strengthen Europe’s life sciences ecosystem.
The voluntary data submission framework allows developers to share data generated using New Approach Methodologies outside marketing authorisation applications and receive tailored, non-binding feedback from European regulatory experts.
At the “Advancement of Treatments for Rare Diseases” conference in Nicosia, European and national policymakers joined clinicians, researchers, regulators, industry representatives and patient advocates to examine how stronger coordination can translate scientific progress into better prevention, diagnosis, treatment and access to care for people living with rare diseases.
ERDERA’s ethics and regulatory experts are launching a dedicated webinar series to help the rare disease research community navigate two fast-moving areas of biomedical research: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) and Artificial Intelligence.