BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

ICER's life year calculation gives Novartis wider pricing ballpark for SMA therapy

February 22, 2019 11:26 PM UTC

Based on the number of years of life it adds, spinal muscular atrophy therapy Zolgensma onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) would be cost effective if priced under $1.5 million per year, according to an evidence report released Friday from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). The SMA candidate from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) is under FDA review with a decision expected this half.

While ICER typically evaluates a drug's cost effectiveness based on quality-associated life years (QALYs), ICER President Steven Pearson told BioCentury the institute recently decided to make life years gained (LYGs) -- or a similar metric, equal value of life years gained (evLYG) -- a more prominent part of its executive summary and value-based pricing calculations to provide policymakers with a broader view of cost-effectiveness...