Exclusive - Amgen leukemia drug to carry $178,000 price tag

By Ransdell Pierson

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc on Wednesday said its new type of treatment for a deadly form of leukemia would cost about $178,000 when it becomes available this month, which would make it one of the world's most expensive cancer drugs.

Company spokeswoman Danielle Bertrand said the price for the infused medicine, called Blincyto, would reflect two courses of treatment, at $89,000 per cycle.

U.S. regulators on Dec. 3 approved the Amgen drug more than five months ahead of the expected decision date, to treat a blood cancer called acute lyphoblastic leukemia, for which there are few options once a patient has relapsed following standard treatment.

 

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)