Study Finds Wide Variation in Payers’ CAR-T Drug Costs
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies have been available in the U.S. since August 2017. While the list prices for the one-time treatments are known, a recent study from Prime Therapeutics LLC examined their total cost of care and clinical events following administration and found that payer costs for the therapies varied widely. Payers could use this information to help forecast costs for these drugs and strike value-based deals, says one author of the study, which was presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s AMCP 2021 virtual conference in April.
Study Examined First Two CAR-Ts
Researchers examined the first two CAR-Ts on the U.S. market. Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) from Kite Pharma, Inc., a Gilead Sciences, Inc. company, was approved Oct. 18, 2017, for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy (RSP 11/17, p. 8). The drug — which gained FDA approval for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after at least two forms of treatment on March 6 (RSP 4/21, p. 8) — is priced at $373,000.
