Genentech’s New NMOSD Drug Offers At-Home Treatment, Lower Cost

The neuroscience group at Roche Holding AG’s Genentech, Inc.  won US Food and Drug Administration approval of its second drug in two weeks on 14 August when Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) was cleared to treat adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder who are aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive. The interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitor is the third NMOSD therapy approved since 2019, but it is the first treatment that can be administered in patients’ homes and at a price below its two competitors.

The list price for Enspryng, which is administered every four weeks by subcutaneous injection, is $14,615 per dose. That translates to an annual cost of $190,000 per year for 13 doses, but the first year of treatment requires 15 doses for a total cost of $219,225. That’s less than half the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of about $500,000 for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc