How Much Does Epclusa Cost?
Epclusa, manufactured by Gilead, is an antiviral medicine often used in conjunction with other medicines to help treat hepatitis C, and the time of this publishing, it’s only available as a brand name prescription; however, according to Gilead, a generic version is readily available in more than 101 developing countries.
How much does Epclusa cost?
The cost of Epclusa, like any prescription at your local pharmacy, will depend on the quantity, pharmacy and the health insurance policy you currently carry. Based on these factors and from the calls we made to local pharmacies, such as Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS, the costs averaged about $25,000 for one bottle of 400mg/100mg without any health insurance coverage, with the average 12-week regimen costing about $75,000 or roughly $890 per tablet.
As for health insurance, it appeared most health insurance policies, including all Medicare policies, would not cover the drug, but it doesn’t mean your policy will not nor are there other ways to save aside from using your health insurance, which we will get into this via our next subheading.
How to save on Epclusa
Official Epclusa co-pay card: The official manufacturer of the drug, Gilead, offers an assistance program called My Support Path, a program which can help you receive your medication at no cost as long as you meet the program requirements such as having a limited income and limited/no insurance. To see if you qualify for the program, follow this link to see if you can receive help for your next prescription.
Additional assistance programs: Whether you do not qualify for the manufacturer assistance program or want to search for help elsewhere, effectively increasing your odds of lowering your prescription costs, there are other programs willing to help you pay for the costs as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. Just like the manufacturer co-pay program, other requirements may be a factor such as having a specific diagnosis or health insurance policy, for example. Some popular assistance programs to check out include the Good Days Patient Assistance Program, which according to its website, can help with this program as long as you meet the eligibility requirements.
Epclusa overview
Epclusa is a combination medication, 400 milligrams of sofosbuvir and 100 milligrams of velpatasvir, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C and is effective against hepatitis c genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Sofosbuvir is considered to be a prodrug which is converted to a nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor and is a direct-acting antiviral agent, which means it will help block the life cycle of the hepatitis C virus. Sofosbuvir can also help interfere with the HCV enzyme called NS5B. Velpatasvir, an inhibitor of HCV NS5A enzyme, will be required for the viral replications. This new pan-genotypic HCV NS5A inhibitor blocks the earliest stages of assembly. Both of these drugs, effectively, are required to interfere with the enzymes needed by HCV in order to multiply and create the new viruses, according to RXeconsult.com.
The recommended dosage for most patients will be one tablet per day, either with or without food, but as with any medication, your results may vary. Most patients will continue to take the medication for 12 weeks.
Epclusa side effects
While not a complete list, reported side effects included headaches, fatigue, nausea, reduced heart rate, weakness, insomnia, anemia, diarrhea, rash and/or depression-like feelings. As with any prescription drug, always talk with your doctor immediately with concerns you may have. For a full list, you can refer to this FDA documentation.
Tips to know
According to GoodRX.com, Epclusa was the first medication to be approved to treat all six genotypes of Hepatitis C with only one tablet, making it also the first tablet for genotypes 2 and 3 without the need of ribavirin. Those who benefit the most will be patients with genotypes 2 or 3, roughly 20 to 25 percent of Americans, according to the article.
The drug was approved by the FDA on June 28th, 2016.
HepMag.com noted two generic versions of this medication is available, Sofosbuvir and Velpatasvir and the reported costs are said to be about $2,000.
Cure rates for patients without cirrhosis with compensated cirrhosis after 12 weeks of treatment ranged from 97 to 100 percent for those with HCV 1,2,4,5 or 6 infection, where patients with decompensated cirrhosis saw cure rates of 94 percent after 12 weeks of treatment.
This is Gilead’s third Sofosbuvir-based regimen.
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Average Reported Cost: $0
