Here’s what Claude Sonnet 3.5 has to answer when we question it: why do ATMPs cost so much?
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), including gene and cell therapies, represent a revolutionary frontier in medicine, offering potential cures for previously untreatable conditions. However, these groundbreaking treatments come with staggering price tags, often costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per patient. The high cost stems from a complex interplay of factors: extensive research and development investments, complex manufacturing processes, rigorous regulatory requirements, and small patient populations for rare diseases. Additionally, the one-time treatment model compels companies to recoup costs and generate profits from a single administration. While ATMPs promise transformative outcomes, their exorbitant prices strain healthcare budgets and raise critical questions about equitable access. As more of these therapies enter the market, finding sustainable pricing models and innovative payment structures will be crucial to balance innovation incentives with affordability and accessibility, ultimately determining the future impact of these potentially life-changing treatments.
We agree. But it’s not just pricing models and innovative payment structures that need to change to deliver the most value to patients. We believe the root of the problem lies in how knowledge transforms value.
Advanced therapy medicines are knowledge-based.
Knowledge grows when it’s shared. As it spreads, more people can use it. When more people use it, it creates more value. The more knowledge available to more people, the lower the price.
So the question is really how do we disseminate knowledge?
That is why we at CTGCT believe in the ecosystem approach. The CTGCT ecosystem includes researchers, clinicians, regulators, suppliers, industry, policy makers, funders, patient organisations and many others. Our closest links are with the National Institute of Chemistry and our CTGCT project partners: UCL, UMC Utrecht, Charité Berlin and TU Dresden. But we are also part of the Slovenian ecosystem, its various networks, the universities and other research organisations, the ministries, the health system, the incredibly strong biopharmaceutical ecosystem, and so on.
We don’t have all the knowledge, much of it is held by other participants in the ecosystem. Maximising the value of an ecosystem depends on the quality and quantity of beneficial relationships. That’s why we are interested in the growth of all members of our ecosystem.
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