Pricing adjustments for CAR-T therapies likely to take place in 2018, says analyst

4 April 2018

Despite the promising findings that the currently approved chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immuno-oncology (I-O) therapies – Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) – are beneficial, practical challenges associated with their pricing and reimbursement remain.

New research from analytics company GlobalData points out that, currently, Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) Kymriah and Gilead/Kite Pharma/Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) Yescarta are the only CAR-T cell therapies available in the US market. The labels for both drugs contain boxed warnings for severe adverse events - cytokine release syndrome as well as neurologic toxicities.

Upon launch, Kymriah (August 2017) and Yescarta (October 2017) were priced at $475,000 and $373,000 per treatment, respectively, placing these among the highest-priced drugs on the oncology market.

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