Rare diseases plan for France due in 2009

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the formulation of a new plan in 2009 for orphan or rare diseases, to be effective in 2010. The proposal would continue the work of a previous government initiative, the First Rare Diseases Plan, which aimed to improve both scientific knowledge about pathogens that affect fewer than five per 10,000 European Union citizens, as well as the care of patients with these conditions.

Pres Sarkozy, who also holds the EU's rotating presidency, said he hopes "that the communication from the [European] Commission on the treatment of the 30 million Europeans affected by a rare disease should be one of the priorities of the French presidency of the EU in the domain of health care."

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