Posted by Michael Wonder on 28 Oct 2017
Tracking the cost of gene therapy
24 October 2017 - Gene therapy, which introduces new genetic material into a person’s DNA, was developed as a revolutionary way to treat some of the rarest syndromes on earth.
Drug companies have attached astronomical prices to these narrowly targeted treatments. In fact, the prices are so high that one has already been pulled from the market in Europe, and the other has struggled to attract patients.
A treatment approved last week could change the equation. Yescarta is the second example of a gene therapy that modifies the DNA in a person’s immune cells to go after cancer. What’s different about Yescarta is that it could treat far more patients than the other gene therapies approved so far.
