Cellular Therapies Are Booming, but ‘Radical Change’ Is Needed

Feb 13
Feb 13, 2025

Since the FDA approved the first cell therapy, the chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) agent Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. on Aug. 30, 2017, several similar cellular agents have followed, and 2024 was a particularly noteworthy year. Accomplishments included approvals of two new types of cell therapies for treating solid tumors and the first new CAR-T since 2022. But with research booming, a “radical change” is needed to pay for these advances.

Such advancements come with high costs, however, and payers will be challenged to find novel strategies to enhance affordability and access, market experts tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT. While value-based agreements are one such strategy, payers are having issues with providers staying in the agreements.
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Angela Maas

Angela has an extensive background of editing, reporting and writing for trade and consumer publications. She has written Radar on Specialty Pharmacy since she joined AIS Health in 2005 and has broad knowledge of the various issues at play within the space. She also has written for Spotlight on Market Access since its 2017 launch. Before joining AIS Health, she was managing editor at Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit News Canada and managing editor at Hem Aware (a hemophilia publication), Lupus Living and Momentum (a multiple sclerosis publication). She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in British literature from Arizona State University.