Amgen reveals Blincyto price as $178,000 per course

USA-based Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) has revealed its intended pricing for its immunotherapy Blincyto (blinatumomab), which was approved earlier this month by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL).

According to Bloomberg, the drug will cost $178,000 for a standard course of treatment, which includes two $89,000 cycles of therapy, the median duration of treatment for patients who responded in clinical studies of the trial.

Amgen acquired Blincyto through the  purchase of Germany-based biotech firm Micromet for $1.16 billion in 2012. Blincyto is an example of immunotherapy, a treatment that uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. Blincyto is the first approved drug that engages the body’s T-cells, a type of white blood cell or lymphocyte, to destroy leukemia cells. The drug acts as a connector between a protein called CD19, which is found on the surface of most B-cell lymphoblasts, and CD3, a protein on T-cell lymphocytes. It is intended for patients whose cancer returned after treatment (relapsed) or did not respond to previous treatment (refractory).