Bluebird Bio CEO Nick Leschly. Photo: Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The price of Zynteglo, a new gene therapy made by Bluebird Bio, will be almost €1.6 million ($1.8 million) in Europe, the company said Friday. Bluebird expects to get FDA approval for Zynteglo next year and to price it similarly in the U.S., Reuters reports.
The big picture: Zynteglo becomes the second-most expensive drug in the world behind Zolgensma, the $2.1 million gene therapy made by Novartis.
Yes, but: Bluebird will only collect that full price if the treatment is effective in patients after 5 years, the company said. Health insurers essentially will pay $357,000 per year.
- But it's unclear which entity would be responsible for paying for the treatment if, for example, a patient loses or switches health insurance.
Go deeper: The drug pricing debate is stuck in the past