The Double-Edged Sword of Extremely High Prices for Gene Therapies in Sickle Cell Disease

Health equity considerations should factor into the pricing of multi-million-dollar gene therapies approved for use in sickle cell disease, as these therapies are a “double-edged sword”—while high prices incentivize therapeutic development for neglected diseases, these prices conversely limit access to treatments for the underserved populations they are intended to benefit. The authors suggest creating federally funded grants targeted at drug development for historically underinvested diseases.