Employers Fear Squeeze From Genetic Cures That Cost Millions

Employers and health plans fear they could be swamped financially by a coming wave of expensive new genetic therapies for rare diseases.

Regulators have recently approved two treatments that sell at many multiples of the prices of routine treatments for more common conditions. A Novartis AG drug for a fatal muscle-wasting disease that kills children in infancy costs $2.1 million for a one-time treatment. Another gene therapy for a hereditary form of blindness made by Spark Therapeutics Inc. costs $425,000 per eye.

Large health plans may be able to absorb those prices for now because the drugs are meant for ...