Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy uses a patients' T-cells to fight cancer. Although more than half of recipients go into remission, the treatment costs $375,000 to $475,000, NBC News reported.
The therapy is only approved for patients with blood cancers, lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma. Patients must have at least one round of unsuccessful traditional treatment before they can be approved for CAR-T therapy.
The FDA has only approved three companies for commercial production, sometimes resulting in a 30-day wait to get the drug.
There is concern that as the drug becomes more common and more people become approved for the therapy, insurance companies will be unable to support it due to the high cost.