Not only are gene therapies expensive, they are physically out of reach for many patients, according to a PwC Health Research Institute report.
To date, four gene therapies have been approved by the FDA. However, 13 states don't have facilities offering any of the approved gene therapies as of July 2019. Additionally, only five ZIP codes in the country have health systems that offer all four, the report found.
Despite this, the gene therapy field is expected to grow quickly in the next decade. The FDA expects to receive more than 200 investigational new drug applications every year for gene and cell therapy starting in 2020, according to the report.
Without addressing the lack of accessibility, gene therapies can expect to realize less than half of their expected peak sales in the first two years, according to the report. Some first-year products could achieve less than 20 percent of peak expected sales.
The report highlights another element of the rural-urban divide in access to healthcare.
Read the full report here.