Most of us lead an unhealthy lifestyle with very hectic schedules. No time to cook healthy food, no time for friends and family, and no time to relax. All this contributes to stress and other health problems, and we land up being in the doctor’s clinic. We visit the doctor’s clinic more than we visit our dearest friends. And once we are in the clinic we need to be ready to bear huge expenses. Prescription drugs are very expensive these days. And if the condition you are suffering from is extreme then the medications can be all the more expensive. You might have spent maybe a hundred dollar or less and found it way too expensive. But there are medications that are much, much costlier than this. Here listed below are 10 of the costliest prescription drugs. These are some of the most expensive prescription drugs in the world.
Top 10 Costliest Prescription Drugs in the World are:
10. Invokana
Invokana, which got approved in 2014, is a diabetes medicine. It is used along with metformin to help control blood sugar. This prescription drug is very expensive and a monthly supply of the same can cost you about $532. Invokana, on insurance formularies, is a Tier 2 drug, but patients will generally have to prove that no other treatment for diabetes can work the way Invokana does before they can be granted coverage.
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9. Advair
Advair is an inhaler that is commonly prescribed for COPD and asthma. And it contains two main ingredients – a corticosteroid (fluticasone) and a beta-agonist (salmeterol). These ingredients help decrease inflammation in the lungs, relax the airways, and thus make breathing easier. Though Advair is very helpful it is also very expensive and a single inhaler can cost you $588. You may look for a manufacturer’s discount and coupons to save a bit on this highly expensive inhaler.
8. Restasis
Restasis is a tear producing eye drop that is helpful for patients with dry eyes. This drug, like the other ones in this list, is also very expensive and a single package of 30 0.4mL vials will cost you $588, and most insurance plans demandsa prior authorization before you can opt for coverage. However, there are also other options to cure dry eyes and you can talk to your doctor about the same if Restasis is beyond your reach.
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7. Novolog
Novolog is a costly fast-acting insulin to treat diabetes type 1 and 2. Novolog’s cash price has increased by 11 % annually over the past few years and now it is available for around $633 a month. Novolog, like many other brand medications, is covered but comes with some insurance restrictions that can make your out-of-pocket expenses run high.
6. Truvada
Truvada or PrEP as it also is known as is a revolutionary prescription drug that helps prevent HIV in uninfected high-risk people. According to studies, PrEP is 90-96 % effective but only if you take it 4 times a week. It is a Tier 2 drug on various insurance formularies but is highly expensive and just a month’s supply can cost you $1,978.
5. Humira
Humira is a drug that can help cure rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease and it is very costly. Just a 30 day supply will cost you $7,719, and its cash price has also increased by 18% annually over the past few years, and also there can be some insurance coverage restrictions. Furthermore, Humira, in many cases, is placed in high-tier insurance formularies and has higher co-pays. Many plans also have prior authorization requirement or/and quantity limit for this medication.
4. Myozyme
Pompe is a rare and at times fatal disease that attacks the skeletal muscles and the heart, and Myozyme is a medication for the same. If Pompe affects infants it can cause death in the first year itself. Myozyme, which is a lysosomal glycogen-specific enzyme can prove helpful for patients as it may increase survivability and reduce the dependence on ventilators. True that this prescription drug can prove to be very helpful but it is also costly and its annual expenses can be between $100,000 and $300,000.
3. Acthar
Acthar is prescribed by doctors to help cure infantile seizure or spasms. Usually, children from 4 months to 11 months of age can suffer from this condition, though some children up to 2 years of age also have experienced the same. Apart from treating this problem in babies, Acthar also is used to treat many conditions in adults like multiple sclerosis. This prescription drug is very expensive and can cost you more than $200,000 a year. However, in 2017 a study was conducted on the effectiveness of Acthar and it suggested that this medication does not work any better than many less expensive treatments.
2. Soliris
Soliris is an effective drug that is used to cure paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. This is quite a rare condition and only 8,000 people have suffered from the same in the whole world. This disease destroys the red blood cells of the patients and results in them suffering from blood clots, anemia, and infections. Soliris has proved to be helpful in treating the disease though it is very expensive and will cost up to $700,000 a year.
1. Glybera
Glybera is one of the costliest drugs in the whole world. It is, however, not approved in the United States but is used in Europe to cure familial lipoprotein lipase deficiency, a condition that has affected only 1,200 people in Europe and about 1 million worldwide. This prescription drug can cost more than $1.2 million a year.
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Life is priceless and thus you need to take the fullest care of it and try to prevent inviting any health problems. However, once you fall prey to a disease do consult your doctor without delay for timely and inexpensive treatment. If the price of the prescribed drugs is too high, you can request your doctor to suggest some affordable alternatives. This will help prevent you from burning a hole in your pocket by having to purchase such highly costly medications.