Purpose The anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel was recently approved to treat relapsed or refractory pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With a one-time infusion cost of $475,000, tisagenlecleucel is currently the most expensive oncologic therapy. We aimed to determine whether tisagenlecleucel is cost effective compared with currently available treatments. Methods Markov modeling was used to evaluate tisagenlecleucel in pediatric relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia from a US health payer perspective over a lifetime horizon. The model was informed by recent multicenter, single-arm clinical trials. Tisagenlecleucel (under a range of plausible long-term effectiveness) was compared with blinatumomab, clofarabine combination therapy (clofarabine, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide), and clofarabine monotherapy. Scenario and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were used to explore uncertainty. Main outcomes were life-years, discounted lifetime costs, discounted quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (3% discount rate). Results With an assumption of a 40% 5-year relapse-free survival rate, tisagenlecleucel increased life expectancies by 12.1 years and cost $61,000/QALY gained. However, at a 20% 5-year relapse-free survival rate, life-expectancies were more modest (3.8 years) and expensive ($151,000/QALY gained). At a 0% 5-year relapse-free survival rate and with use as a bridge to transplant, tisagenlecleucel increased life expectancies by 5.7 years and cost $184,000/QALY gained. Reduction of the price of tisagenlecleucel to $200,000 or $350,000 would allow it to meet a $100,000/QALY or $150,000/QALY willingness-to-pay threshold in all scenarios. Conclusion The long-term effectiveness of tisagenlecleucel is a critical but uncertain determinant of its cost effectiveness. At its current price, tisagenlecleucel represents reasonable value if it can keep a substantial fraction of patients in remission without transplantation; however, if all patients ultimately require a transplantation to remain in remission, it will not be cost effective at generally accepted thresholds. Price reductions would favorably influence cost effectiveness even if long-term clinical outcomes are modest.

PURPOSE Two anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies are approved for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel; each costs $373,000. We evaluated their cost effectiveness. METHODS We used a decision analytic Markov model informed by recent multicenter, single-arm trials to evaluate axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel in multiply relapsed/refractory, adult, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma from a US health payer perspective over a lifetime horizon. Under a range of plausible long-term effectiveness assumptions, each therapy was compared with salvage chemoimmunotherapy regimens and stem-cell transplantation. Main outcomes were undiscounted life years, discounted lifetime costs, discounted quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (3% annual discount rate). Sensitivity analyses explored uncertainty. RESULTS In an optimistic scenario, assuming a 40% 5-year progression-free survival (PFS), axi-cel increased life expectancy by 8.2 years at $129,000/QALY gained (95% uncertainty interval, $90,000 to $219,000). At a 30% 5-year PFS, improvements in life expectancy were more modest (6.4 years) and expensive ($159,000/QALY gained [95% uncertainty interval, $105,000 to $284,000]). In an optimistic scenario, assuming a 35% 5-year PFS, tisagenlecleucel increased life expectancy by 4.6 years at $168,000/QALY gained (95% uncertainty interval, $105,000 to $414,000/QALY). At a 25% 5-year PFS, improvements in life expectancy were smaller (3.4 years) and more expensive ($223,000/QALY gained [95% uncertainty interval, $123,000 to $1,170,000/QALY]). Administering CAR-T to all indicated patients would increase US health care costs by approximately $10 billion over 5 years. Price reductions to $250,000 and $200,000, respectively, or payment only for initial complete response (at current prices) would allow axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel to cost less than $150,000/QALY, even at 25% PFS. CONCLUSION At 2018 prices, it is possible that both CAR-T therapies meet a less than $150,000/QALY threshold. This depends on long-term outcomes compared with chemoimmunotherapy and stem-cell transplantation, which are uncertain. Widespread adoption would substantially increase non-Hodgkin lymphoma health care costs. Price reductions or payment for initial response would improve cost effectiveness, even with modest long-term outcomes.

7561 Background: Two anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies are approved for large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL): axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel. Each costs $373,000 (wholesale acquisition). We evaluated each therapy’s cost-effectiveness. Methods: A decision analytic Markov model evaluated axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel in multiply relapsed/refractory adult DLBCL from a US health-payer perspective over a lifetime horizon. The model was informed by recent multi-center, single-arm clinical trials. Under a range of plausible long-term effectiveness assumptions, axi-cel and tisagenlecleucel were each compared with salvage chemoimmunotherapy regimens and stem-cell transplantation. Main outcomes were un-discounted life-years, discounted lifetime costs, discounted quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (3% discount rate). Sensitivity analyses explored uncertainty. Results: In an optimistic scenario, assuming 40% five-year progression-free survival (PFS), axi-cel increased life-expectancy by 8.15 years at $129,000/QALY (95% UI: $90,000-215,000/QALY) gained. At 30% five-year PFS, improvements in life-expectancy were more modest (6.4 years) and expensive ($159,000/QALY [$107,000-281,000/QALY] gained). In an optimistic scenario, assuming 35% five-year PFS, tisagenlecleucel increased life-expectancy by 4.6 years at $168,000/QALY ($104,000-453,000/QALY) gained. At 25% five-year PFS, improvements in life-expectancies were more modest (3.4 years) and expensive ($224,000/QALY [$124,000-1,190,000/QALY] gained). Administering CAR-T to all indicated patients would increase US healthcare costs by $10 billion over 5 years. Price reductions to $250,000 or payment only for initial CR or 90-day CR/PR (at current prices) would allow both therapies to cost < $150,000/QALY down to 25% PFS. Conclusions: At current prices, it is possible that each CAR-T therapy may meet a < $150,000/QALY threshold; this is dependent on long-term benefit compared with chemoimmunotherapy and SCT, which is uncertain. Widespread adoption would increase non-Hodgkin lymphoma healthcare costs substantially. Price reductions or payment for initial CR or 90-day CR/PR would favorably influence cost-effectiveness even if long-term outcomes are modest.