Opening a new era in cancer care, the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first treatment that genetically engineers patients' own blood cells into an army of assassins to seek out and destroy childhood leukemia. The new CAR-T therapy might replace bone marrow transplants that cost more than half a million dollars, said Grupp, who led the Novartis study. Analysts said the eventual pricing of the Novartis treatment could be an advantage for Kite. Since these therapies are “unbelievably effective” for leukemia, Novartis’ pricing power is high, said Thomas Shrader, biotechnology analyst at Stifel. 9:45 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from medical experts and a financial analyst, as well as more details about CAR-T therapy.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 30, 2017 15:29 UTC