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When Nirnay Murthy learned about a treatment for his toddler son’s rare condition, relief quickly gave way to disappointment.
A one-time gene therapy called Zolgensma from the Swiss drugmaker Novartis can halt spinal muscular atrophy, a deadly condition that causes muscles to waste away. But the medicine also carries a price tag of $2.1 million.
That sum felt almost unimaginable to Murthy, a veterinarian in India, where insurance does not cover Zolgensma. Still, Murthy tried. Last year, he crowdfunded $125,000, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
“It just shatters you inside. It makes you feel inadequate,” Murthy said.
Instead, Murthy used the money on a little-known alternative: an experimental gene therapy from a Chinese company called Lantu Biopharma. In May, a doctor dosed his 3-year-old son, Aryan, with the treatment.
Zolgensma is a miracle of modern medicine, but its steep price has largely placed it out of reach in poorer countries. Now, four Chinese companies are developing competing therapies, with plans to be much less expensive.
The trend is another example of China’s fast-rising biotech scene. But more than that, it’s...