Cancer Cure News 2017: Breakthrough Cancer Drug Could Prove Costly for Patients
A revolutionary cancer cure could prove to be one of the most expensive treatments available on the market. Just a single dose of the drug could cost patients north of half a million dollars.
A new leukemia drug from Novartis is being hailed by doctors as a breakthrough cancer drug. However, its cost dampens their enthusiasm as it is nearly impossible for ordinary patients to receive the treatment.
"It's going to cost a fortune," said Dr. Ivan Borrello of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.
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Switzerland-based Novartis has yet to announce the official price of the drug. However, British health authorities estimate that a single dose could cost $649,000. They justified this though by citing the significant benefits of the treatment.
The treatment, CTL019, is among a new class of medications called CAR T-cell therapies. This involves harvesting the patient's white blood cells and genetically altering them to kill cancer.
It has been tested on leukemia patients whose cancer relapsed even with the best chemotherapy or after undergoing a bone-marrow transplant. The prognosis for these patients is normally bleak; however, after undergoing the treatment, a staggering 83 percent have gone into remission.
The cancer therapy was unanimously approved by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee back in July. However, the treatment has only been successful in a limited number of cases and is being suggested to be used only as a last resort.
This means that only a few hundred patients will be eligible to receive the treatment every year. However, the number is expected to rise according to Dr. J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
The FDA is set to decide on giving the official approval to the CTL019 treatment on Oct. 3. Another company, Kite Pharma, is also currently awaiting approval for its own CAR T-cell therapy.
