Why is Zofran so expensive?

Discussion in 'GlaxoSmithKline' started by Anonymous, Dec 31, 2007 at 1:38 PM.

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  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I'm taking generic Zofran and it is working great. My insurance does not cover this medication so I had to call around and found a HUGE difference in price for it. I was quoted over $350 at Walgreens for the highest, $68.84 at Sams Club and $17.30 at Costco. I about passed out over the difference. The same dose, the same drug, the same amount (30 pills). I recommend anyone who has to take it to call around and price check. If there is not a Costco close to you, I would mail order it through them with that type of savings. I'm also very upset with Walgreens who I have used pretty much my whole life for marking this drug out of my reach where I have to drive two hours to get it at a reasonable price. It's worth the drive for the savings but I should not have to.

    On a positive note: I can easily afford the pills now with a little effort on my part.
     

  2. #62 angelinnashville, Aug 2, 2010 at 12:11 AM
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 2, 2010 at 12:13 AM
    I'm taking generic Zofran and it is working great. My insurance does not cover it. I had to call around and found a HUGE difference in price for it. I was quoted over $350 at Walgreens for the highest, $68.84 at Sams Club and $17.30 at Costco. I about passed out over the difference. The same dose, the same drug, the same amount (30 pills). I recommend anyone who has to take it to call around and price check. If there is not a Costco close to you, I would mail order it through them with that type of savings. I'm also very upset with Walgreens who I have used pretty much my whole life for marking this drug out of my reach with them who are right down the road from me where I have to drive two hours to get it at a reasonable price with a different pharmacy. It's worth the drive for the savings but I should not have to. Bottom line.... Price compare a lot of different pharmacy before you purchase Zofran out of pocket like I did.
     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    So I guess you work at Costco? Nice SPAM!!!
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Once again. Bottom line pharmacist's are crooks.
     
  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Does this surprise anyone??? Why wouldnt their insurance cover it? Perhaps they need different medical coverage
     
  6. Because the drug is relatively new and the generic pill makers out there are wanting to make more money off people who have no choice but to buy the pills or suffer and die. I don't like the fact that the companies are taking advantage of people much like buying a beer at a stadium. They do in fact have a group of people for whom they take prey on and as long as it is less than the brand name pill, they think it's acceptable behavior. Bad morals I call it, taking advantage of the sick,........that's just sick and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. To turn a profit is good business, but to price gouge is in bad taste and immoral.
     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    We launched the drug in 1991 and had to wear Zofran sweatpants to some party. it was my first day on the job...it is a great drug but the sweat pants should have been a warning!
     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    We launched the drug in 1991 and had to wear Zofran sweatpants to some party. it was my first day on the job...it is a great drug but the sweat pants should have been a warning!
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I had the priviledge of launching Zofran which truly was an innovative, great product that vastly improved the quality of life for cancer patients that really needed it. Having said that, I became emabarresed by the way that we marketed the product. We were always pushing docs to increase the dose and give it to patients that really didn't need it just to make our quotas. We started off with a high price for the injection and then went to charging a King's ransom for the pills that never really worked for cancer patients. Zofran 4mg at about $20 a dose was reasonable for post op N & V, however, hospital pharmacists tried to clamp down on that because of generic phenergan. So there is plenty of blame to go around on this discussion. Still, Zofran was a great product in its day.
     
  10. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I do not work for Cosco - I work for a biotech company now. I had 26 years at GSK in sales. Yes Cosco has the best price on meds - any meds period. And GSK charged a lot for Zofran because the market would pay for it. Bottom line profits thats all.
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Can't believe it. I pulled this thread from 4 years ago last week just for the hell of it and you Jacka$$es are actually responding to it!!!
     
  12. NurseChuck

    NurseChuck Guest

    I have nausea issues, but do not have cancer. My gastroenterologist has done 2 EGD's, one colonsocpy, one H Pylori breath test, one gastric emptying study, and still no cause of the nausea has been found by my doctor. I do not have cancer, but my doctor ordered Zofran. I'm a nurse, but never knew that getting an antiemetic could be such a problem. Insurance doesn't want to pay, so I've been changed to Phenergan. With the doc had thought of that before sending me down the Zofran Path. If the Zofran is on generic now, one would think that the price would have fallen.
     
  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    And this concerns me because...........................
     
  14. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    We have to make a huge fucking profit to pay our criminal executives their outrageous salaries! We don't give rats ass about you or any other patient! Our execs need money!!
     
  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    It is disgraceful the way glaxo has ripped off cancer patients with the cost of zofran.
     
  16. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    First of all, do you know how much it actually costs to develop any drug, let alone an oncology drug? Secondly, Zofran is generic. Margins on generics are low and some products are more expensive to make. Of course, you are not interested in facts, right???
     
  17. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Let me answer this for you. Zofran originally was priced at $18/8mg tablet when introduced in about 1994. This was thought to be realistic since many patients on 5FU chemo had long nausea that wasnt completely debilitating where IV Zofran at a much higher cost was used. The zofran therapy was much more effective than bendryl, droperidol and compazine. Prior to zofran many patients had to stay in hospital for days until their nausea and vomiting went away. Their relatives had to stay in hotels. So the efficacy for many was worth the per tab cost vs nausea/vomiting as well as being able to go home. God bless. From a proud Glaxo Heritage rep who was hugged many times by nurses and patients because of Zofran+

    I agree their are some very insensitive people on this board and unfortunately they may work for GSK
     
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    It is generic. Cancer patients are covered. It is probably some pregnant chick complaining about her copy. Don't blame Glaxo for your perceived high price of a generic company's product.
     
  19. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I know the facts better than you. I was with Glaxo when Zofran was launched and I do know how much it cost to develop drugs. Get off your high horse with me. The number one cost in pricing a drug is sales and marketing salaries, gimmicks, commissions and sales meetings and trips. Has been for sometime. The drug companies do everything they can to hide this and distort the truth. There is no doubt that Zofran is a fine drug but cancer frequently bankrupts people and the attitude @ Glaxo when Zofran was laucnched was the cancer ptients will do and pay anything for this drug, who care if it bankrupts them.
     
  20. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I doubt you know the costs. Take a look at the R&D expenses. Also, you can see a large number of oncology deals and see the associated development costs. It is not cheap. A typical product can cos over $800 million to develop. Oncology drugs and patient care are higher, and as such, the costs typically go beyond the averages. You do realize that when you are developing the cancer drugs, you are also paying for the associated patient care costs as well.