Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Price
Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Price
US Price
The treatment carries a staggering price tag of around $373,000 per patient in the United States.
European prices
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Axi-Cel in 2018, but its cost remains a significant barrier to widespread access.
Japan price
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare initially set the price for Axi-Cel at around ¥33.5 million ($300,000) per patient. However, after negotiations with the manufacturer, the price was reduced to around ¥25 million ($225,000) per patient, making it more accessible to Japanese patients.
China price
The negotiated price for Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in China has been set at ¥1.2 million (approximately $180,000) per treatment course. While this price point is still significant, it represents a substantial reduction compared to the exorbitant costs observed in other regions, such as the United States and Europe.
Factors Contributing to the High Cost
The astronomical cost of Axi-Cel can be attributed to several factors:
1. Research and Development Costs: Developing and bringing a new therapy like Axi-Cel to market involves years of extensive research, clinical trials, and regulatory approvals, which require substantial investments from pharmaceutical companies.
2. Personalized Manufacturing: Each dose of Axi-Cel is tailored specifically for an individual patient, involving complex processes of extracting, modifying, and reinfusing the patient’s own T-cells. This personalized approach adds significant manufacturing costs.
3. Limited Patient Population: The target patient population for Axi-Cel is relatively small, consisting of those with specific types of blood cancers who have not responded to other treatments. This limited market size makes it challenging for manufacturers to recoup their investments through economies of scale.
4. Risk and Uncertainty: CAR T-cell therapy is a relatively new field, and the long-term effects and potential side effects of Axi-Cel are still being studied. The uncertainties associated with this novel treatment contribute to the high pricing.