London

NOVARTIS AG, set to beat Kite Pharma Inc to the finish line in one of the most promising new areas of cancer research, is examining how to price a revolutionary therapy patients will need to take just once.

The US Food and Drug Administration is likely to rule in early October on the experimental treatment called CTL019, Vas Narasimhan, global head of drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, said in an interview. The regulator is due to decide on Kite's product, designed for a different type of blood cancer, by November 29.