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Bluebird Bio Decision in Europe Is A Wake-Up Call For Payers and Industry

Compromise On Prices Will Be Needed In The Future

 
• By Leela Barham

Bluebird bio’s decision to focus on the US market is being seen as a broader signal of the need for changes in market access policies to enable gene therapies to be made available for European patients. Only collaborative work will create solutions acceptable to payers and companies, and finding an acceptable price that both can live with will be crucial.

Hurdles
Are the funding hurdles too high for gene therapies in Europe? • Source: Shutterstock

Stakeholders from within life sciences say that the decision bluebird bio has made to focus on the US to commercialize its gene therapies sends a worrying signal about the attractiveness of Europe. European payers and companies need to get serious about finding solutions to the pricing challenge to avoid false hope for patients in future, the argue.

That is becoming ever more urgent, with five gene therapies currently under review by the European Medicines Agency. (Also see "Tough Times In Europe For Gene Therapy Companies" -...

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