Kymriah gets Japanese price tag of $305,800

Chuikyo, Japan’s Central Social Insurance Medical Council, on May 15 approved the listing of Swiss pharma giant Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) on May 22, with a National Health Insurance (NHI) price tag of some 33.5 million yen ($305,800), according to media reports.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved Kymriah in March this year. Novartis plans to use the one-time personalized therapy in Japan for children and young people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Novartis expects peak annual sales of $65.7 million in Japan with up to 216 possible patients, according to a document submitted to the panel.