How Much Does Cosentyx Cost?
Cosentyx, a prescription used to treat psoriasis and sometimes psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, is only available as a brand as of this publishing, with no generic available at this time.
How much does Cosentyx cost?
As with any prescription, the cost of Cosentyx will depend on your health insurance coverage, the dosage and the pharmacy you choose. One carton of two Sensorready pens of 150mg/ml can cost close to $4,900 without any health insurance while three cartons of two syringes or Sensorready pens can cost upwards of $14,500 without any health insurance coverage.
Based on the dosage recommendations, patients will require an injection during weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, followed by one injection every four weeks or month. At close to $2,500 per injection, the costs during the first year can easily be in the $25,000+ range.
From what it appears online, most health insurance companies will not cover this prescription, including all Medicare plans; however, it doesn’t mean you cannot save money and/or your health insurance provider will not help cover it. Be sure to follow our cost-saving strategies noted below and call your insurance company as well to know your restriction as to what may be covered.
The annual costs, as per ClaimSecure.com, is said to be $24,675 for the first year and $19,740 for subsequent years.
How to save on Cosentyx
Cosentyx co-pay coupon: The official manufacturer of the drug, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, offers the Cosentyx Co-Pay Assistance card, a program designed to help commercially insured patients pay as little as $0 per fill, with a $16,000 annual cap benefit if your current insurance carrier does not cover the prescription. As with a lot of co-pay programs such as these often require the patient to have a commercial insurance plan that rejects coverage for the drug in order to qualify. Other qualifications apply; to find out more, you can follow this official link to register and see if you qualify for up to two years of Cosentyx for free.
Official assistance foundation: Aside from the co-pay coupon, Novartis also offers the Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation, a patient assistance program which helps you receive your medication at no cost as long as you meet certain income requirements and have no health insurance policy. To see if you qualify, the foundation does ask you have a valid prescription, a proof of household income and you must have no private or public prescription coverage. For more information on this foundation and how you can take advantage, you can visit Novartis.com.
Patient assistance programs: Aside from the typical federal and state assistance programs, there are plenty of non-profit organizations out there that want to help you with specific medications, including Cosentyx. The PAN Foundation, for instance, offer assistance for this particular drug for patients who meet qualification requirements. To qualify, for instance, patients will have to have insurance, a valid prescription and must be diagnosed with a specific disease to qualify.
Cosentyx overview
Cosentyx is designed as an injection under the skin and at first, it’s usually injected via a medical professional, where they will show you how it can be done at home. Always use the injection as prescribed, never taking more, less or stopping without your doctor’s permission. When done with injections, it’s extremely important they are always disposed of inside of a special sharps container; never throw away in the trash. To receive one, you can do so by purchasing one online or talking with your local doctor’s office.
The recommended dosage will depend on the patient and reason for injection. Readily available as a 150 mg/ml solution in either a prefilled syringe or Sensorready pen, the recommended dose for psoriatic arthritis patients, for example, will be administered during weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, then one 150 milligram dosages every four weeks thereafter.
What is Cosentyx?
Cosentyx, a human interleukin-17A (IL-17A) antibody used for treating psoriasis, reduces the symptoms of psoriasis. Psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition, will often present itself as a scaly, red and white patches on the skin due to the body’s immune system sending false signals to the skin cells to grow and multiply faster than they naturally should. Aside from the colored patches on the skin, those who do suffer from psoriasis can develop psoriatic arthritis, which is the inflammation of the joints. Cosentyx, essentially, will selectively bind to the IL-17A, which is released by one of the white blood cells, targeting the linings of the skin during an inflammatory response. When the medication selectively binds, it can then block it from binding to the receptor, which is then responsible for the inflammatory process, contributing to psoriasis in the first place.
Cosentyx side effects
During clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effects included throat/nasal passage inflammation, diarrhea, an upper respiratory tract infection, rhinitis, oral herpes, rashes and/or a runny nose. If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s so important to talk with a medical professional immediately. For a full list of side effects, refer to this FDA PDF.
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