First introduced as part of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Orphan Drug Tax Credit has allowed drug manufacturers to claim a tax credit of 50% of certain research costs for orphan drugs (drugs for diseases affecting 200,000 Americans or fewer). This tax credit has significantly increased industry investigations and development of treatments for rare diseases, and one-third of new drugs approved by the FDA each year are for orphan drugs that benefit from this tax credit. There have been discussions in Congress about repealing this tax credit; while no bills have officially been introduced to this end, Myotonic, along with our partner NORD and other rare disease organizations, officially opposes the repeal of the Orphan Drug Tax Credit.