NHS, Gilead reach agreement for Yescarta

NHS England said it will cover Yescarta axicabtagene ciloleucel from Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), making Yescarta the first CAR T available to adults in England.

Last month, NHS England struck a deal with Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) to make Kymriah tisagenlecleucel the first CAR T available in England, but its access is limited to children and young adults. Kymriah is available to patients under 25 years old with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that are refractory, in relapse post-transplant or in second or later relapse (see "Kymriah Becomes First CAR T Available on NHS England")...