Every transformative medical technology eventually runs into the same hard question: who benefits? Gene therapies already face the dilemma — the cures are real, but the price tags are out of reach for most individuals and strain even well-resourced systems.
For our third poll, we asked the DOC community where they project the market will land on the multimillion-dollar costs for these medical breakthroughs. Would research shift from ultra-rare disease cures to those affecting a larger population? Would prices come down? Would insurance start to cover the costs? Or would the pricing stay the same, creating a two-tier system where those who can afford them self-pay?
Here’s where you landed.
The majority of you — 50.0 percent — believe pricing has to come down. One respondent called this a “logical progression,” others pointed out that inevitably, AI will speed up research and development and lower costs. Another commenter noted that “genomics [is] getting more efficient at platform-based therapies,” a reusable delivery system, paid for once, then reused to benefit clinical trials down the road.
More than one-fifth of you — 20.8 percent — are pretty bearish, though, projecting that prices stay in the seven-figure range for genetic therapies, meaning there will be those who can afford to pay out of pocket, and those who cannot. “Many things in medicine are still two-tiered with better access for those who can self pay,” one person stated. “For example, in the field of psychiatry, long wait times and limited number of psychiatrists result in many people having to self-pay if they want to access care in a timely manner.” However, 16.7 percent of you believe that gene-based cures will be “normal and covered,” as one of you bullishly wrote.
Finally, one-eighth of you — 12.5 percent — think that for companies to recover costs, they’ll begin to shift direction in the diseases they target. That thinking may underscore that fewer of you believe insurance will cover patients’ costs for these therapies. It’s a conversation we’ll surely continue at DOC 2026 in October.
Before then, keep an eye out for our next poll, which arrives this month. We’ll have results in our September issue.