bluebird plans to marry Zynteglo’s $2.8M price with outcomes-based deals with payers

After gaining a landmark FDA approval for Zynteglo, bluebird will make the $2.8 million gene therapy available to β-thalassemia patients via an outcomes-based pricing arrangement with payers that could refund up to 80% of the cost, not counting an upfront payment. The therapy is the first ex vivo lentiviral vector gene therapy approved in the U.S. for β-thalassemia patients who require regular red blood cell transfusion.

In approving Zynteglo betibeglogene autotemcel from bluebird bio Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUE), FDA agreed with an advisory committee that the therapy’s efficacy was high enough to justify the risks associated with lentiviral-based gene therapies given the level of unmet need...