A Breakthrough Blindness Treatment Will Cost $425,000 Per Eye, If It Works
- Spark Therapeutics proposes installment payments and rebates
- Novel approach will tie cost of medicine to patients’ benefit
Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna
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A transformative genetic treatment for a rare, inherited form of blindness will come with a price tag of of $425,000 per eye, or $850,000 for both, said Spark Therapeutics Inc., the tiny biotechnology company that is bringing the therapy to market.
Since Spark’s Luxturna was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month, speculation over the price has grown as it became clear the therapy would be one of the first in a wave of medicines that yield remarkable results after a single treatment -- and would carry a commensurate cost.