High-Priced Sickle Cell Gene Therapies Threaten to Exacerbate US Health Disparities and Establish New Pricing Precedents for Molecular Medicine

Abstract

Gene therapies to treat sickle cell disease are in development and are expected to have high costs. The large eligible population size - by far, the largest for a gene therapy - poses daunting budget challenges and threatens to exacerbate health disparities for Black patients, who make up the vast majority of American sickle cell patients.

Keywords: Drug Costs; Gene Therapy; Health Care Disparities; Health Care Reform; Sickle Cell Disease.