Spark Therapeutics Proposes Value-Based Reimbursement, Installment Plans for Luxturna

Amid controversy over the high cost of its newly approved gene therapy Luxturna — $850,000 before discounts — Spark Therapeutics announced a series of initiatives to improve patient access to the drug, including outcomes-based arrangements with Harvard Pilgrim and Express Scripts.

The drug is a gene therapy for treatment of pediatric patients with biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated retinal dystrophy.

The arrangements will link payments to efficacy, with the amount the company collects hinging on the drug’s efficacy over both a 30-90-day period and a longer 30-month stretch, using light-sensitivity tests as an endpoint. The company is in talks with other commercial insurers for similar arrangements.