Breakthrough Cancer Therapy for Dire Cases Gets FDA Approval
- Novartis’s Kymriah is approved in U.S. weeks ahead of schedule
- Treatment, called Kymriah, will cost $475,000 per patient
Leukemia cells
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U.S. regulators approved a revolutionary new cancer treatment from Novartis AG on Wednesday, the first in a group of coming therapies that offer breakthrough cures for dire cases as well as stratospheric costs.
Known as CAR-T therapy, the treatment involves extracting a patient’s immune system cells and modifying them to attack aggressive blood cancers. Novartis will charge $475,000 for the one-time drug, called Kymriah, and said it’s developing programs where it will only get paid if patients respond to it.