CAR-T therapies to be covered on Medicare

The recently-approved CAR-T therapies Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) have come with a price tag to match the level of scientific innovation.

But they will not be beyond the reach of Medicare beneficiaries in the USA, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the decision to cover the therapies, which are so far approved to treat certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said: “President Trump is committed to strengthening the Medicare program by ensuring that beneficiaries have access to new and potentially lifesaving treatments. As the first type of Food and Drug Administration-approved gene therapy, CAR T-cell therapies are an important scientific advancement in this promising new area of medicine and provide treatment options for some patients who had nowhere else to turn.