U.S. drug pricing watchdog the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, known as ICER, said it would analyze the cost-effectiveness of two new sickle cell drugs from Novartis AG and Global Blood Therapeutics Inc.
ICER plans to review the drugs based on clinical trial results and patient input to find the benefit of the drugs compared to their expected cost.
Novartis' crizanlizumab is being evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an expected approval by January 2020. Global Blood Therapeutics' approval for its drug voxelotor is expected in the fall of the same year.
The report has a planned release of Sept. 30, and public comment will be open until Sept. 20.
ICER explores a drug's cost to the healthcare system as a whole based on the treatment it provides and the years and quality of life it can add to a patient's life.
The number of people with sickle cell disease in the U.S. is unknown, but it is estimated at about 100,000 people, ICER said. The lifespan of a person with sickle cell disease is about two or three decades shorter than the general population.
Treatment for the disease costs the U.S. health system about $2.98 billion per year, ICER said.
