Krystal Biotech, Inc. announced that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has assigned a permanent and product-specific J-code (J3401) for VYJUVEK® (beremagene geperpavec-svdt), the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). The J-code for VYJUVEK became effective on January 1, 2024. J-codes are permanent reimbursement codes used by government payers and commercial insurers to facilitate billing of treatments that must be administered by a healthcare professional.

J-codes simplify and streamline the billing and reimbursement processes, allowing for efficient claims processing. VYJUVEK is a non-invasive, topical, redosable gene therapy designed to deliver two copies of the COL7A1 gene when applied directly to DEB wounds. VYJUVEK was designed to treat DEB at the molecular level by providing the patient?s skin cells the template to make normal COL7 protein, thereby addressing the fundamental disease-causing mechanism.