The U.S. pricing watchdog Institute for Clinical and Economic Review found that five biologic asthma drugs on the market are more than double their suggested prices.

The five asthma drugs under review by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, or ICER, were Xolair from Genentech Inc., Nucala from GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Cinqair from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Fasenra from AstraZeneca PLC and Dupixent from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

ICER compares a drug's cost to the benefit it provides in terms of quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs, which account for both the number of years a patient lives and the quality of life in that time. The group assigns a threshold of between $50,000 and $150,000 per QALY for a drug to be worth its price.

The five asthma drugs in the study fell between $300,000 and $400,000 per QALY, more than twice the threshold. And the probability of them reaching the cost-effective range was zero across the board, ICER reported.

"All five biologics modestly reduce asthma exacerbations and improve daily quality of life," David Rind, ICER chief medical officer, said in a Nov. 13 statement. "However, the treatments' net prices appear to be far out of alignment with these incremental clinical benefits, and the entire therapy class would need to see price discounts of at least 50% to reach commonly cited thresholds for cost-effectiveness."

A public meeting will take place in St. Louis on Nov. 29 to discuss the results of the study.