Doggett urging CMS transparency on Kymriah price

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) penned a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma requesting transparency of the pricing agreement for Kymriah tisagenlecleucel from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN). Eight other congressmen added their signatures.

Last month, FDA approved the chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy to treat patients up to 25 years old with B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory or in second or later relapse. The pharma simultaneously announced a $475,000 price for the therapy as well as an outcomes-based arrangement with CMS. Novartis said it will not charge for the therapy in patients covered by CMS who do not have a response within the first month (see BioCentury, Sept. 1)...