Novartis new CAR-T leukemia drug likely to be the most expensive ever

When doctors talk about a new leukemia drug from Novartis, they ooze enthusiasm, using words like “breakthrough,” “revolutionary” and “watershed moment.” But when they think about how much the therapy is likely to cost, their tone turns alarmist, writes Liz Szabo on Kaiser Health News.

The cancer therapy, CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel) from Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX), was unanimously approved by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee in July, and its approval seems all but certain. The FDA is scheduled to decide on approval by October 3.

In the meantime, US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has received FDA approval for Besponsa (inotuzumab ozogamicin) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The agency is also considering a CAR T-cell therapy from Kite Pharma. A third company, Juno Therapeutics, halted the development of one its CAR T-cell therapies after five patients died from complications of the treatment.