Empowered Patient Podcast Accelerating Access to Cell and Gene Therapies with Alicia Silver ADVI Health
Alicia Silver, senior director at ADVI Health, highlights the evolving landscape of cell and gene therapy and the need to improve patient access and payment for these treatments. Availability of these therapies for solid tumors and genetic diseases like sickle cell disease is expanding due to the transition from inpatient to outpatient and community settings. The FDA's decision to remove REMS requirements for specific therapies has accelerated the growth of facilities to provide care, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Alicia explains, "We work with a number of different cell and gene therapy clients throughout the sector. So we work with manufacturers who have commercialized cell and gene therapy products. So they have products that are currently on the market, manufacturers who are going through the process of clinical trials right now, working with the FDA to get approved products. But we also work with trade organizations that are working behind the scenes at the sector level, trying to get different policies and access changes for patients."
"To date, there's probably close to a couple of dozen FDA-approved cell and gene therapies, and they treat everything from blood cancers, which were the first approvals in something called CAR T. We saw blood cancers as the first approvals, and then everything through to solid tumors in oncology. But also, we have newer gene therapies for conditions like sickle cell disease. And that's an area that's been incredibly underserved and definitely will benefit from a durable gene therapy that hopefully corrects some of the issues that patients with sickle cell disease have, like pain crises that end up in a hospital. So from that perspective, we see a really wide range of treatments available to patients today and many more on the horizon."
"I think the price tag is definitely somewhat of sticker shock for people who don't understand how cell and gene therapy products are valued. And so what we do a lot of times, educating on, is helping payers understand that it's not necessarily $2 million for a treatment that's going to be a recurrent payment, but something that's kind of an investment in the patient's and the plan's future."
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