Medicare sets outpatient CAR T-cell therapy rates

On the inpatient side, Medicare payment for CAR T-cell therapy is currently bundled into the payment for the inpatient stay, rather than being paid separately. The drug manufacturers – Gilead Sciences and Novartis AG – have requested that CMS set a separate “new technology add-on payment,” but the agency has not yet issued a decision.

^{Courtesy Dr. Richard Maziarz}

Dr. Richard Maziarz

Further advancements are expected for CAR T-cell therapies in 2018, said Cai Xuan, PhD, senior analyst in oncology and hematology for GlobalData, a data analytics and commercial intelligence firm.

For starters, pharmaceutical companies are now working toward next-generation CAR T-cell therapies that can be mass produced, Ms. Xuan noted. At a recent American Association for Cancer Research meeting, for example, the biopharmaceutical company Cellectis presented early clinical data in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia for its off-the-shelf CAR T-cell candidate UCART19. Additionally, CRISPR Therapeutics presented preclinical data for one of its off-the-shelf CAR T-cell candidates for multiple myeloma, and the company announced it would apply for approval to start human trials by the end of 2018.