Gene-Therapy Cure Has Money-Back Guarantee
Strimvelis is the first gene-therapy cure for a rare disorder. Its recently announced cost of $665,000 makes it one of the most expensive one-time treatments ever sold. However, if it doesn’t work, the money will be returned.
Strimvelis uses a virus to add a missing gene to the bone marrow of children with ADA-SCID, an inability to fight infections. GlaxoSmithKline bought rights to the treatment in 2010 and recently won approval to sell it in Europe, where it will be offered in Milan.
But Strimvelis’s price could be seen as a bargain. The cost of the current treatment for ADA-SCID, a bone marrow transplant from a donor, can reach $1M and some patients get treated with enzyme injections that cost $250,000 a year.
