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The payers' perspective on gene therapies

Nature Biotechnology volume 33, pages 902–904 (2015)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

In last September's issue, Troyen Brennan and Jim Wilson made the case for a pay-for-performance model for gene therapies1. The Western world's first gene therapy, Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec), is launching in Germany at an initial €1.1- ($1.22)-million price tag, a new record for a medicine to treat a rare disease2. Several other gene therapies are in late-stage development, and both large pharmaceutical and biotech companies have been building their internal capabilities and striking multiple partnerships3. The financial community has also shown great appetite driven by the promise of high drug prices and recurring payments. However, 'payers,' either public or private, are concerned with both the price levels routinely mentioned for gene therapies and the pricing and reimbursement (P&R) approaches being proposed. Here we report payer attitudes to P&R for gene therapy. We detail why the payers' view differs from that of industry executives, financial analysts and academic experts. And finally, we provide alternative approaches developed through discussions with payers in the United States and large European countries.

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Figure 1: Results of telephone survey of payers asking payment method preferences for gene therapy.
Figure 2

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Jean Philippe Combal for helpful discussions and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. groupH, Strategy Consulting, London, UK

    Nicolas Touchot

  2. Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Westfalen Lippe, Prescription Management, Dortmund, Germany

    Mathias Flume

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  1. Nicolas Touchot
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  2. Mathias Flume
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Correspondence to Nicolas Touchot.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Touchot, N., Flume, M. The payers' perspective on gene therapies. Nat Biotechnol 33, 902–904 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3332

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