§ 283h. Office of Rare Diseases
(a)
Establishment
There is established within the Office of the Director of NIH an office to be known as the Office of Rare Diseases (in this section referred to as the “Office”), which shall be headed by a Director (in this section referred to as the “Director”), appointed by the Director of NIH.
(b)
Duties
(1)
In general
The Director of the Office shall carry out the following:
(A)
The Director shall recommend an agenda for conducting and supporting research on rare diseases through the national research institutes and centers. The agenda shall provide for a broad range of research and education activities, including scientific workshops and symposia to identify research opportunities for rare diseases.
(B)
The Director shall, with respect to rare diseases, promote coordination and cooperation among the national research institutes and centers and entities whose research is supported by such institutes.
(C)
The Director, in collaboration with the directors of the other relevant institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health, may enter into cooperative agreements with and make grants for regional centers of excellence on rare diseases in accordance with section
283i of this title.
(2)
Principal advisor regarding orphan diseases
With respect to rare diseases, the Director shall serve as the principal advisor to the Director of NIH and shall provide advice to other relevant agencies. The Director shall provide liaison with national and international patient, health and scientific organizations concerned with rare diseases.
(c)
Definition
For purposes of this section, the term “rare disease” means any disease or condition that affects less than 200,000 persons in the United States.