The World Orphan Drug Alliance (WODA), a global alliance of commercial distributors dedicated to providing access to treatments for rare diseases and specialty medicines in complex markets worldwide, has expanded its reach to include Canada and all of Latin America (LATAM).

The addition of two new members - Theratechnologies Inc. for Canada and Innovative Medicines Group (IMG) for LATAM - brings the total number of countries covered by WODA to 158 and extends its reach to 210 million rare disease patients. The alliance now consists of 12 members, each being expert for the region covered.

This expansion effectively completes WODA's ambition to provide global access to rare disease treatments. “With a new partner in LATAM and the addition of Canada, we are thrilled to become the only truly global-for-local platform," said Patrick Jordan, Chairman of WODA. "Canada not only gives our partners a footprint in North America, but with Theratechnologies’ operations in the U.S., they can be a U.S. solution as well. With IMG, we have a broader coverage of LATAM, including Mexico."

Headquartered in Montreal, Theratechnologies was one of WODA’s first partners with the distribution of EGRIFTA SV^® globally. They have recently broadened their portfolio, announcing an exclusive licensing deal with Ionis Pharmaceuticals for two assets in Canada. With a strong history of collaboration, Theratechnologies is a natural partner for WODA in Canada.

WODA has also gained a strong new member in IMG, introducing a new platform for LATAM. IMG allows for a turnkey solution in the stalwart markets of Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia, and with a strong regional footprint ensures coverage across the rest of Latin America, including Mexico. Based in Montevideo, Uruguay, the team has a proven track record of serving rare disease patients throughout the region.

The Alliance now provides a broad outreach with a local focus through thirteen separate entities: Specialised Therapeutics (Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia), Medis (Central and Eastern Europe & Nordics), Path Pharma (Greece, Cyprus, Malta), CTS (Israel), Innovative Medicines Group (Latin America), Vector Pharma (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey), Orpharm (Russia and the CIS region), EffRx (Switzerland), Veld (Africa), Nxera (Japan, South Korea), Theratechnologies (Canada) and its boutique consultancy partner Decisive Consulting.