Comments on: How to save hundreds of dollars on Zofran (and possibly other prescription drugs)

By: Katrina S

Katrina S — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:54:40 +0000

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been battling with CVS/Caremark to approve this medication – the only one that seems to work for my son’s nausea – which happens to be unrelated to chemotherapy.

By: AaronD

AaronD — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:56:42 +0000

I realize this is an older post but it’s saved me hundreds of dollars. I was in the same situation and was able to use a compounding pharmacy to create the prescription. They were able to make it a sustained release version of the drug to get around the formula being the commercially available version. Which actually worked better. The savings on a single 30 day supply went from just over $180 for my co-pay down to about $22.
Excellent post.

By: Compounding Pharmacy

Compounding Pharmacy — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:29:20 +0000

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By: Bethany

Bethany — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:20:45 +0000

Just wanted to say thx for this tip to us pregnant women! I was just perscribed Zofran for hypermesis and am in awe of the price! Instead of everyone making negative comments, I say thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.

By: Mickie

Mickie — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 13:23:40 +0000

You know what is illegal pills costing $250.00 for 6 pills when there is help available for these people. My mother has limited finances and has been suffering for over 2 years without being able to afford Zofran. I hope you live a long and healthy live because today without money and costly insurance old age is not a time that can enjoy your life.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:17:25 +0000

Bob – it is not illegal (at least in the US, Canada, and the EU). As stated, you can not exactly copy currently available medications, but can do the compounding so long as a “change” is made.
This is simply an example of information asymmetry where people get ripped off because, like you, they make assumptions w/out doing the research.
S

By: sjpeer

sjpeer — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:26:30 +0000

I called the pharmacy where I got the Zofran and they confirmed that they compound the ondansetron. They said they can’t compound drugs that are commercially available but in the case of the Zofran they add B6 or B12 (vitamin I assume) and apparently that combination isn’t commercially available. I have a hard time believing they are operating illegally when they were so open to talking to me about it. Does anyone else know about this law?

By: Foo Bar

Foo Bar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:13:37 +0000

If this was legal don’t you think every pharmacy would do it and not have to pay for the name-brand drugs? But, it’s not legal- in fact, the pharmacist can loose the licence and the pharmacy can be shut down.

What makes you think that the laws in the author’s country are the same as the laws in your country.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 22:23:50 +0000

That is illegal of the pharmacy to do that. A pharmacy cannot compound a commercially available medication (such as Zofran/ondansetron).

If this was legal don’t you think every pharmacy would do it and not have to pay for the name-brand drugs? But, it’s not legal- in fact, the pharmacist can loose the licence and the pharmacy can be shut down.

By: Eva

Eva — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:20:26 +0000

Compounding pharmacies like the one that you found are also a boon to those of us with allergies. I’m allergic to corn, and most medications use corn as a filler/stablizer/sweetener (for liquids) which makes them off limits to me. I discovered that for many medications, I can have a compounding pharmacy make an alternative for me.