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Woah! The cost of these drugs...

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/19/2011 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
I just looked up the two new drugs I'll be taking for this flare. For a 30-day supply, Entocort is $1,000 and Cimzia is $3,250. For ONE MONTH. Luckily, my insurance covers it. I paid $100 for the entocort today and I think the Cimzia will be $150. Remicade is only $600 for the drug itself, but I'm sure getting the infusion done adds quite a bit to that.
Posted 1/19/2011 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, that is generally why pred is prescribed in preference to Entocort.

Scary, isn't it?
Posted 1/19/2011 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
Yep. Asacol aint exactly cheap either. Then there are cancer drugs which are like 10 times more expensive than our biologics; over $200K/yr for many of them if I recall.
Posted 1/19/2011 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
I have Blue Shield in CA even though I live mostly in Oregon.
Entocort $35/month
Remicade $7358 per infusion (meds $ 6000 give or take)
Prednisone about $10 month
shocked
Not to mention special foods and loo roll!!!

Nothing about this disease is cheap
Posted 1/19/2011 4:27 AM (GMT 0)
I am so grateful that all three of my recent hospital stays were completely covered by insurance, the amount of all three combined would have been about the same as going to a top tier college for a year.

Its crazyyy
Posted 1/19/2011 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
wow where ever you live you remicade is cheap. Over $6000 for 7 viles here.
Posted 1/19/2011 5:25 AM (GMT 0)
Now now chrisnsteph. You know all those medical and pharmaceutical wheels play golf. Have you priced a new set of the finest clubs lately, or golf balls and greens fees ??? Ohhhhh Myyyyyyyy. Dont forget the price of a BeeMer to get to the course in stile. What ???? You thought they were in the field because they wanted to help people ????
Posted 1/19/2011 5:59 AM (GMT 0)
It's sickening when you really think about how much drugs cost...I just picked up a bunch of prescriptions on Friday (Colazal, Levaquin, and Flagyl) plus the Entocort I got a week ago and that's $3k alone in meds in ONE MONTH.

Though my hubby works in pharm research and it's amazing to hear how many drugs go through development (with research, people developing the meds, maybe even clinical trials) and get shot down before ever coming to market. It's something like 8 in development for every one that makes it to market.

But anyway you look at it, medicine is just way, way, way too expensive and it should never be that way....
Posted 1/19/2011 6:50 AM (GMT 0)
I wonder how many drug companies are trying to convince doctors to diagnose people with this condition. Just a thought...

This reminds me of a story of an hiv/aids cocktail going a few years back which was back then around $10,000 a year. Some little company from east asia started making the exact same cocktail and selling it cheaper in china. There was a big whooha about the rights and all, but china said they were willing to go with whoever charged less, and so the american drug companies dropped the price down to $2,000 per year...and still managed to make a profit.

I heard some birds chirping about generic entocort becoming available as of feb next year. Will see...
Posted 1/19/2011 7:03 AM (GMT 0)
According to PPACA:

"The Food and Drug Administration is now authorized to approve generic versions of biologic drugs and grant biologics manufacturers 12 years of exclusive use before generics can be developed."

When did Remicade come out?? The mid-1990s?
Posted 1/19/2011 7:28 AM (GMT 0)
I was gonna say that Remi price is probably per vial, not the whole dose.  Yeah that $%*& entocort is killing me financially.
Posted 1/19/2011 7:51 AM (GMT 0)
Where did you find remicade for $600? I have been getting it every month for about 7 years and it has always been over $10,000 for the drug. Don't let the price scare you too badly though because almost all of them have great copay assistance programs to help offset the high cost. It does amaze me though that my remicade bad each month is worth more ounce to ounce than gold.
Posted 1/19/2011 8:10 AM (GMT 0)
chrisnsteph1022, I assume you live in the USA. Just out of interest, I went to a Canadian online pharmacy web site to price these drugs. Results:

Entocort (brand name), 3mg, 90 capsules, $227
budesonide (generic), 3mg, 100 capsules $60

So more than 4 times difference between the brand and generic. Just curious - how many Entocort capsules do you get for $1000?

Unfortunately, there is no generic drug for Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) available, at least not at the Canadian online pharmacies I looked at.

Post Edited (ozonehole) : 1/19/2011 1:13:20 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/19/2011 8:15 AM (GMT 0)
ozonehole, it is legal to buy medication from a Canadian pharmacy and have it shipped to the states? I know a lot of seniors go to Mexico or Canada to get their medications. I would feel completely comfortable using a Canadian pharmacy.
Posted 1/19/2011 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
It's a mulit-million, if not billion dollar disease. Do you actually think these big pharma companys would invest in finding a cure? HELL NO, lol. As long as it's consider "mangeable" we'll probably never see one. "It'z all about teh moneyz" Unfortunately.
Posted 1/19/2011 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
It seems to me there a lot of people using Entocort and I feel bad because I have pretty much two full bottles of it sitting in my closet because I'm not using it, he had to switch me to prednisone. You all are shoveling out money, and I have it sitting miserably in my dark closet. I wish I could send it to you all to save you some money!
Posted 1/19/2011 2:53 PM (GMT 0)
Entocort sucked the wind right out of me when I first started taking it. Got off after 6 months. Every month when I go pick up my Pentasa even the pharmacist says "wow, that's expensive!" Thanks, dude!
Posted 1/19/2011 5:03 PM (GMT 0)

OMG! Where are you getting your Entocort? The only time I got put on it, I went to Walmart pharmacy to pick up 3mg. #90 (1 month supply) and it was around $240-260.

Definitely call around to different pharmacies and price it. Everyone has different mark-ups.

Good luck!

Posted 1/19/2011 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Those were the prices quoted by my insurance- what they pay plus my copayment. And yes the remicade was per vial.
Posted 1/19/2011 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
I have seen what the average selling price from the manufacturer to the distributor and for Entocort and it is over $1,000 per month for 90 3mg pills. The $240.00 at Wal Mart is with insurrance for sure .

I called the Entocort brand manager in Canada in Montreal. I told him I was traveling from the US and needed an Entocort prescription filled. I wanted him to confirm that there is no difference between US and Canada entocort. (There is a big difference in Pantassa). He called back and confirmed there is no difference.

Jan Pharmacy in winnipeg mb, fills US Entocort prescriptions with Canada sourced Entocort. They are a bit more then other Canadian online pharmacies but just to be on the 200% safe side I am willing to pay a bit more for a Canaadian sourced product.

I think when I order it is about $170.00 per month and I got free shipping. That is about 1/2 the price from me for the exact same thing from the same manufacterer and no insurance involved.

If you email me I can give you any more details, or wil post here no problem
Dave
BTW - I do not work for Jan or get paid by them. This is the best I could do. If someone knows better, please, please tell me. This DD is putting me in the poor house and I will change in a minute
Posted 1/20/2011 3:11 AM (GMT 0)
My info I get back from the pharmacy is my Entocort 9mg a day is 1500 per month and my Humira I use 1 time a week and that is 4500 a month the pentasa I believe was 800 or 900 then there are my other meds for non CD stuff which dont come near as high but still up there.  I now live in Oregon and I have Medicare so I also have OHP a state plan since I am low income pays my copays but I still have some copays but it beats 20% of the cost
Posted 1/20/2011 3:40 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, just for Canasa and Lialda without insurance, it would have cost us about $1000 a month. The remicade infusion for my husband - the bill is like $6k every 2 months. I am very grateful for the insurance I have, even though it looks like some medications became more out of pocket this year. We pay $75 a month for canasa and lialda every month, and a $40 co-pay for remicade.

PV
Posted 1/20/2011 6:48 AM (GMT 0)
The per vile price of remicade now makes a little more sense. Thanks for clearing that up.
Posted 1/20/2011 7:23 AM (GMT 0)
The cost of Pentasa alone is very expensive.  I'm finally back on medicaid  thankfully.
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