Sarepta Therapeutics won a surprising victory last month when regulators approved its experimental drug for a muscle-wasting rare disease following a concerted lobbying campaign by the biotech's allies and patient advocates. But the controversial therapy is already running into headwinds with skeptical health insurers.
Insurance titan Anthem, which has more than 38 million health plan holders, has decided not to offer coverage for the new treatment, the company announced in a medical policy update. That could prove to be a major barrier to patients and their families since the drug has a topline cost of $300,000.
