BLOOMBERG: Novartis’s $475,000 Cancer Breakthrough Heralds New Era of Cures

There are more than 600 gene and cell therapies in clinical trials today, according to Mark Trusheim, a strategic director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Biomedical Innovation. Those that make it to approval are likely to come with similar costs, in part because of the complex manufacturing process required to make these treatments.
“Gene therapies are different because you’re treated once and then you’re done, as compared to regular drugs where you take them every month or every day,” Trusheim said. “There’s no mechanism for the developer to get paid every month, so the price points start to look pretty high.” He called Novartis’s arrangement to pay only if patients respond to the drug a “huge breakthrough.”
Full article here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-30/cancer-breakthrough-heralds-new-era-of-cures-costs-and-choices