Remicade Prices, Coupons & Patient Assistance Programs

Remicade (infliximab)
is a member of the antirheumatics drug class and is commonly used for
Ankylosing Spondylitis, Crohn’s Disease, Crohn’s Disease – Acute, and others.

Remicade Prices

The cost for Remicade intravenous powder for injection 100 mg is around $1,229 for a supply of 1 powder for injection, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.

This Remicade price guide is based on using the Drugs.com discount card which is accepted at most U.S. pharmacies.

Intravenous Powder For Injection

Important: When there is a range of pricing, consumers should normally expect to pay the lower price.
However, due to stock shortages and other unknown variables we cannot provide any guarantee.

Drugs.com Printable Discount Card

The free Drugs.com Discount Card works like a coupon and can save you up to
80% or more off the cost of prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs and pet prescriptions.

Print Free Discount Card

Please note: This is a drug discount program, not an insurance plan.
Valid at all major chains including Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Target, WalMart Pharmacy,
Duane Reade and 65,000 pharmacies nationwide.

Remicade Coupons and Rebates

Remicade offers may be in the form of a printable coupon, rebate, savings card, trial offer, or free samples.
Some offers may be printed right from a website, others require registration, completing a questionnaire,
or obtaining a sample from the doctor’s office.

Remicade Janssen CarePath Savings Program: Most eligible commercially insured patients pay just $5 per infusion with a savings of up to $20,000 per calendar year; for additional information contact the program at 877-227-3728.

Applies to:

Remicade

Number of uses:

per prescription per calendar year

Form more information phone: 877-227-3728 or
Visit website

Remicade Janssen CarePath Savings Program Rebate: Eligible commercially insured patients may submit a rebate request if the pharmacy does not accept the Savings Card; for additional assistance contact the program at 877-227-3728.

Applies to:

Remicade

Number of uses:

One rebate per prescription fill

Form more information phone: 877-227-3728 or
Visit website

Patient Assistance Programs for Remicade

Patient assistance programs (PAPs) are usually sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and provide free or
discounted medicines to low income or uninsured and under-insured people who meet specific guidelines.
Eligibility requirements vary for each program.

Provider: Johnson & Johnson Patient Assistance Foundation, Inc. Patient Assistance Program

Elligibility requirements:

1. Must have no prescription coverage for needed medication
2. Varies. **See below for details
3. Medication must be for outpatient use only
4. The patient must also be permanently residing in the US or US territories.
5. *Some Medicare Part D patients who cannot afford their medicines, and who meet certain financial criteria, may also be eligible for assistance. Please Contact the program for more information (1-800-652-6227). **Please call 1-800-652-6227 or visit Program website for specific FPL income requirements.

Applicable drugs:

• Remicade
  (infliximab)
  IV; Infusion

More information please phone:
800-652-6227
Visit Website

Provider: Patient Access Network Foundation (PAN)

Elligibility requirements:

1. *See Additional Information section below
2. Between 400-500% of FPL
3. FDA Approved Diagnosis – See Program Website for Details
4. Must reside and receive treatment in US
5. *Patients must have health insurance and their insurance must cover the qualifying medication for which they seek assistance. Call for most recent medications as the list is subject to change and the medication for which you are seeking assistance must treat the disease directly. Note: All new enrollment is now done electronically or over the phone. Contact program for details.

Applicable drugs:

• Remicade
  (infliximab)
  IV; Infusion

More information please phone:
866-316-7263
Visit Website

Provider: My Janssen CarePath

Elligibility requirements:

1. Determined case by case
2. Based on FPL
3. Must be used for on-label diagnosis
4. The patient must be a US citizen or legal resident.
5. Call for most recent medications as the list is subject to change.

Applicable drugs:

• Remicade
  (infliximab)
  IV; Infusion

More information please phone:
866-228-3546
  or 877-227-3728  
Visit Website

More about Remicade (infliximab)

Consumer resources

Other brands

Inflectra, Renflexis, Avsola, Ixifi

Professional resources

Related treatment guides

How much does Remicade cost? The true cost of Crohn’s disease

By ERIN BRICKER

(Editor’s note: Erin Bricker reached out to us via our interactive software to talk about health costs, and we struck up a conversation. I asked her to write about her experiences, and she agreed, in the hope that someone else would benefit from her knowledge.)

In the last 20 years or so, reported incidences of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have gone up about 33%, according to the Center for Disease Control. Currently, more than three million adults report having either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis and more are diagnosed every day. [Edit: Changed “irritable bowel disease” to “inflammatory bowel disease.”]

At the same time, the costs associated with IBD create additional strain on many patients, often influencing their chosen courses of treatment. There is currently no cure for IBD, and while treatment options continually improve, many patients face a lifetime of daunting hospital bills, insufficient insurance coverage and expensive medications.

I discovered all this through personal experience, beginning about 10 years ago when I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s. I was young, presumably invincible and never worried about health insurance. But what I quickly received was a crash course in IBD, healthcare coverage (or a lack thereof), the incongruity of healthcare costs and much more.

Diagnosis

I’ll never forget the day I was diagnosed. I awoke groggy and confused, still in the midst of a propofol-induced haze that followed my first colonoscopy. I was 25 at the time, just about half the age when the average adult experiences this awkward and invasive rite-of-passage.

I’d finally acquiesced to the procedure after about a year of myriad testing to determine the pathology of my on-again, off-again inflammatory gastrointestinal symptoms, the details of which I won’t bore you with now. I’d alternately been told it was likely celiac disease, a parasite, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff). After testing negative for all of those, here I was, trying to get a final diagnosis, once and for all.

As I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, the doctor who’d performed the procedure surprised me by rushing over to hug me, saying, “I’m so relieved for you. It’s only ulcerative colitis! You’re so lucky you don’t have Crohn’s- that’s so much worse.”

I was devastated. What on earth was colitis and what was Crohn’s? Why did this weirdly enthusiastic doctor think I should be so excited? I had no idea what any of it meant, but I knew that my life had just permanently changed.

Over the next year, my health continued to deteriorate significantly. I ended up in a hospital on the other side of the country, emaciated, in extreme pain, and being fed through an intravenous tube. I hadn’t eaten more than a couple of morsels of food in weeks and couldn’t walk on my own. I was barely able to focus as a different doctor informed me that I’d been misdiagnosed—I actually had Crohn’s disease. I couldn’t help think about the first doctor and how darn disappointed she’d be.

But what I didn’t know in that moment, was that this was just the beginning of a journey that would lead me on an educational, painful, deep dive into the absurd monstrosity that is the American health care system. At times I’d receive bills in the tens of thousands of dollars, find myself yelling at doctors and occasionally wheeling and dealing to negotiate down a hospital bill like I was buying a stolen stereo out of the trunk of someone’s car.

Insurance Plan 1

When I was first diagnosed, I had a “catastrophic” insurance plan. This is what broke 20-somethings used to buy in the days before the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These plans were only for people who thought they were invincible and included a bare minimum of coverage, essentially insuring against freak accidents. My annual out-of-pocket maximum (OOP max) was something like $25,000-$30,000. In summary, this was a terrible plan for someone just diagnosed with Crohn’s.

The hospital bill from my first stay totaled more than $64,000, of which I was expected to pay the aforementioned OOP max. To put this in perspective, at the time I worked for an international athletic training company and made $30,000/year before taxes.

Additionally, approximately $8,000 of that bill was for a medication I’d now receive as an infusion every six weeks, Remicade (infliximab), in order to control my extremely high inflammation levels.
So some simple math shows us that:

$8,000 x 8 ½ times per year = $69,000/year

With my catastrophic insurance plan, I’d be responsible for a portion of those bills larger than my annual income.

Every year.

For the rest of my life.

So, being an industrious sort, I was highly motivated to avoid this impending, eternal and soul-crushing debt. I began shopping around for a new insurance plan…with a pre-existing condition…before ACA protections existed. It would be an understatement to say that I was a less-than-desirable prospect for insurers.

You can probably imagine how it went. I was turned away by every single insurance company, with the exception of one that offered me a plan for $1,500/month with no real benefit or expense improvements beyond those of my catastrophic plan. They did not act surprised when I passed on that.

At this point, my options dwindled to:

• Build up debt until it gets so high that it’s worth declaring bankruptcy.
• Marry someone with good insurance—I’m kind of joking, but really did have this conversation with my partner at the time. We ended up married anyway, but it was quite a few years later for far more romantic reasons.
• Move to another country with universal health care—This could be an entire blog post on its own and has seriously been on my radar at times.
• Get a new job with group health benefits—This seemed like the simplest solution and didn’t require any lifetime vows or moving costs, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

Insurance Plan 2

Even before ACA, insurers couldn’t ask about pre-existing conditions of employees being added to company group insurance plans. Nowadays, ACA provides protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions so insurers can’t ask under any circumstances, but that’s a relatively recent development.

Not having those protections at the time, I accepted a job offer at a new company and gladly signed on to their group insurance plan, feeling like I’d just gotten away with murder. My new insurance had a $10,000 annual OOP max. That may still seem high, but remember, this was about a third of what I’d previously been paying, which made it more doable, as long as I never wanted to do anything crazy like, say…retire or take vacations.

I still wasn’t quite satisfied with that annual price tag, so I also pursued supplemental reimbursement options, which some pharmaceutical companies offer for patients on specific medications. Remicade is made by Janssen, a company that offers the Remistart program, which reimburses enrolled patients for a portion of the costs of the medication. The Remistart website states that, “eligible patients pay just $5 per infusion.” Well apparently I wasn’t fully “eligible,” for the full reimbursement, but I did receive some funds out of this program, which made it worth the hassle.

However, it was certainly not easy. At the time the reimbursement process was completely manual, requiring that the forms be submitted in hard copy via mail along with a hospital Explanation of Benefits (EOB), a document which details the services and medications received by the patient.

In subsequent months, I did occasionally receive reimbursements for seemingly random sums of money and never understood the basis for these specific amounts.

There were also often discrepancies in the EOBs that disqualified me for reimbursement. The hospital would sometimes list my Remicade treatment as “chemotherapy.” Remicade is in no way similar to chemo, other than the fact that it’s administered through an infusion. In these instances, Remistart would refuse my reimbursements as they did not explicitly delineate “Remicade” as a line item on the bill. I approached the hospital several times to get a corrected document, all to no avail. This misrepresentation on the EOB cost me significant reimbursement funds over time.

Still, for anyone who is paying anything out of pocket for Remicade, I’d recommend utilizing the Remistart program. It may work out for you and the process may have improved since I initially applied for it about a decade ago. You can read more about it at this link.

Current Insurance Plan

About five years ago, I made another career shift and began working at a public institution that has a “Cadillac” insurance plan. Currently I pay $0 in monthly dues for my insurance, as the entire cost is picked up by my employer. I nearly sobbed with joy the day I signed the paperwork.

This insurance plan is also one of the few I’ve ever encountered that covers 100% of the Remicade costs within its prescription plan, which means that no expense is passed on to me.

So I’m set for life, right? Not quite.

Issue 1: This is the ultimate set of “golden handcuffs.” I like my job, but the idea that I absolutely can’t ever leave without threat of incurring massive medical debt is quite daunting.

Issue 2: There is no guarantee that my insurer will continue to cover Remicade. This has actually become an issue recently and I’m honestly not sure how it’s going to be resolved.

Background

To give a little background on why this is such a concern, let me explain a little bit how Crohn’s disease and Remicade work. Please keep in mind I’m not a doctor and am making some generalizations to simplify this explanation.

Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the gastrointestinal system, resulting in inflammation. The primary culprit of this misdirected aggression is TNF-alpha, a protein that can cause excessive inflammation in patients with diseases like Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Remicade is a “biologic” medication that works by binding to TNF-alpha, thereby making it ineffective and reducing a patient’s inflammation levels. However, because of its biologic nature, it is possible for the patient to build up antibodies to it. If that happens, the patient becomes “immune” to Remicade and will no longer see benefits from this medication.

Research has shown that the odds of building such antibodies increase if a patient stops taking the medication for an inordinate period of time. This occasionally happens when a patient can’t afford the drug or wants to try other treatment options.

I’m one of those crazy people who just can’t completely accept the idea that I’ll be on this drug for the rest of my life. Every few years, I revisit the idea of eventually weaning myself off Remicade. Every time, my doctors warn that if I go off of it, I may become immune to it and be unable to resume treatment if needed.

There are other versions of biologic drugs, but there’s always a risk that other biologics won’t work for any individual patient.

So, the moral of the story is that going off the drug could mean that you get sick and stay sick forever.

If that sounds terrifying to you, it’s because it is. I have successfully been persuaded away from this course of action by every single doctor I’ve broached the idea with. I believe they’re giving me this advice in good faith, but it’s still disappointing to say the least.

But I’m okay, since my insurance covers Remicade, right? Maybe … for now.

The current state of things

I received a call from my pharmacy recently requesting that I switch to a different biologic, called Inflectra. It’s a “biosimilar” to Remicade, but is not identical.

All in all, the development of biosimilars is a great advancement for patients who receive these types of medications because they are slightly less expensive and may eventually bring down biologic medication costs on the whole. I applaud the effort and advances in medical science.

My doctors have assured me that studies show that “most” patients do fine switching. But my concern is that “most” isn’t the same as “all.”

After a decade of being told that switching medications could send me back down the path of uncontrolled inflammation, long hospital stays, excessive weight loss and the pain that comes along with all of that … I’m not real keen to switch in order to save my insurance company money.

So, I told my doctor that I’m not switching and she agreed to keep me on Remicade for the time being, with the warning that my insurance may stop covering this medication entirely, forcing me to choose between paying for it in full once again, or switching to the biosimilar…which works for most patients. Most.

I wish I could tell you that I have some incredibly innovative or creative solution to this, but honestly, I don’t. I’ll probably switch to Inflectra and it’ll probably be fine. Probably.

The future

For the moment, I count myself very fortunate to have the incredible coverage I do, at a time when it seems like health insurance in America is only becoming increasingly daunting and complicated. But in an effort to stay ahead of the curve, I always maintain a multi-pronged plan for coverage options in preparation for whatever the future many bring, including future job changes and *cringe* the possible dismantling of ACA.

So in that spirit, I leave you with the following list of tips and advice that I’ve learned from years of wading through the muddy waters of US health insurance.

• Be your own advocate- Learn about your diagnosis and medications and ask your doctor questions. Here’s one resource: The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. And if you don’t like your doctor, don’t be afraid to switch.
• Ask for quotes for medical services and medications. These are not easy to get, but in my experience, if you try hard enough, you can occasionally get an answer.
• Negotiate- When you have a large hospital bill, try to call and see if you can negotiate it down. I’ve found this works on occasion and when it doesn’t, you can often set up a no-interest payment plan.
• Learn the basic structure of health insurance plans, so you know what you’re entitled to, can compare plans and know when you’re being incorrectly charged.
• Watch the news. Healthcare is a topic of much political debate at the moment and being informed will keep you in the know about possible changes to ACA or other laws.
• Participate in things like clearhealthcosts. com. The more people who submit their costs to this site, the more tools other patients have available when making decisions about treatment.
• Get creative. When the going gets tough, the tough look for loopholes. You read earlier about all the options I considered after I was first diagnosed, including anything from bankruptcy to moving out of the country. Put everything on the table and weigh the pros and cons. You can see a great example of a creative solution at this link, where one Remicade patient discovered she could save a significant amount of money by using an in-home infusion service.

Wishing you wellness and affordable healthcare,
Erin

(Editor’s note: For related posts on our blog, click here. If you have further information, please comment here or email us at [email protected].)

(Editor’s note: My friend Randi Redmond Oster, reading about this post on Facebook, commented: “Jeanne, Remicade was the drug the doctor recommended for my son Gary. He chose to try a nutritional approach instead. It is more cost effective and safer. It is tough to do but he’d say after ten years on this program, it was the best decision for him. If anyone wants to learn more. Here is his story: “Questioning Protocol: How to navigate the healthcare system with confidence.” In the book we show how pressured we felt to try the Remicade and the steps we took to Question Protocol to find an alternative.”)

(Editor’s note: This share came in from an anonymous community member on our interactive software. The provider is Borland Groover, 4800 Belfort Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32256, USA.)

Infliximab Cost

Infliximab is a monoclonal antibody that is administered intravenously to treat a number of chronic inflammatory conditions.

Evolution of infliximab therapy – John K. Marshall, MDPlay

Mechanism of action

Infliximab works by blocking the functional activity of a cell-signaling protein (cytokine) called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which is a substance that plays a key role in inflammation. Using infliximab to inhibit TNF-α does not cure the inflammatory disease; however, it reduces the signs and symptoms of inflammation that arise in patients with such conditions.

Indications

Also known by the brand name Remicade, infliximab first received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 1998 for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. In 2004, this approval by the FDA was extended to rheumatoid arthritis and, in 2005, to ulcerative colitis (UC). Infliximab also received approval for the treatment of pediatric Crohn’s disease in 2006 and pediatric UC in 2011.

Active Crohn’s disease failing to respond to therapy

Infliximab is currently approved in the United Kingdom for the treatment of patients with severe and active Crohn’s disease that has failed to respond to a full course of treatment with a corticosteroid and/or immunosuppressant. This treatment is also available for those who are intolerant to these therapies or have medical contraindications for them.

For these patients, infliximab is administered by intravenous infusion at a dosage of 5 milligrams (mg) per kilograms (kg) of body weight (5mg/kg) over a period of two hours. This is followed by a repeat infusion two weeks later. If symptoms do not improve after these two doses, no further treatment is administered.

In cases where the disease does respond to infliximab, patients receive maintenance treatments of 5 mg/kg infusions 6 weeks after the first dose, with infusions then following every 8 weeks. For adults, dose escalation may be an option if the disease stops responding.

Active fistulizing Crohn’s

Patients with active and fistulizing Crohn’s disease that has failed to respond to a full course of conventional therapies such as drainage, antibiotics, and an immunosuppressant, can also be prescribed infliximab in the United Kingdom.

For these patients, infliximab is infused at a dose of 5 mg/kg for 2 hours with repeat infusions two and six weeks later. In cases where the disease fails to respond after these three doses, no further infliximab infusions are given.

For those with a disease that does respond to infliximab treatment, maintenance infusions of 5 mg/kg may be given every eight weeks or a re-administration treatment of 5 mg/kg may be given when symptoms recur, followed by the same infusion every 8 weeks. For adults, dose escalation may be considered if their disease has stopped responding.

Severe and active Crohn’s in the pediatric population

Infliximab can also be used to treat patients between the ages of 6 and 17 years with severe and active Crohn’s disease that has failed to respond to conventional therapies including primary nutrition therapy, an immunomodulatory drug and a corticosteroid, or those who are intolerant or have medical contraindications for these therapies.

For these patients, intravenous infusions of 5 mg/kg are given followed by repeat infusions two and six weeks later, and then every 8 weeks.

Cost

The cost of a 100 mg vial of infliximab in the United Kingdom is £419.62, excluding VAT, and $987.56 in the United States.

Since the dose is adjusted according to a person’s body weight, the cost of treatment varies between individuals. The cost for someone weighing 73 kg, for example, would be £1,678 in the United Kingdom and $3,950.24 in the United States, because four 100 mg vials would be needed to administer a dose of 365 mg. With an assumed administration cost per infusion of £258 and $617, the cost of two infusions would be around £3,872 or $9,107. To continue therapy at the standard dose over a total of twelve months, the cost would be around £12,584 or $29,643.

References

Further Reading

To control her Crohn’s disease, she needs drug infusions that cost thousands a year, for life

I sat in my gastroenterologist’s office three weeks after a recent major surgery that involved removing 12 inches of my inflamed small intestine due to Crohn’s disease. The autoimmune disorder is infamous for a laundry list of symptoms that include fatigue, weight loss, extreme abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and bowel obstructions that oftentimes lead to surgeries such as the one I had to have.

After that major flare, I wanted to know one thing: How can I prevent the need for future surgeries?

I wondered whether it involved changing my diet. Maybe exercising more? Or implementing other lifestyle changes such as abstaining from alcohol? But my GI looked at me plainly and said one word: Remicade.

He explained that it’s a biologic, an infused drug that can help protect against the autoimmune disorder — more specifically, the inflammation caused by it.

“How long would I have to be on these infusions?” I asked.

My GI hesitated, shrugged, and begrudgingly told me: forever.

“And,” he said, “You have to be compliant with the drug, meaning you can’t skip doses or it won’t work in the future.”

>> READ MORE: Biologic drugs can be lifesavers. But their high cost can be life changing

I tried to get used to the idea of needing an intense infusion once every eight weeks for the rest of my life.

I was reluctant to accept the course of action, but all the doctors, including GIs, and surgeons, I spoke with continued to tell me that Remicade has been “a lifesaver” for some. The word “revolutionary” continued to come up in conversation. They said that biologics such as  Remicade and Humira are the future of treating such chronic illnesses as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. But, they also warned me that these drugs are expensive, and told me that I’d have to have a financial plan in place so I wouldn’t miss any infusions.

As a 27-year-old woman freshly out of graduate school, I was worried. Would the infusions hurt? And, more important, how am I going to pay for them?

In November, I received my first infusion. By now I’ve had four, and I’m happy to report that no, they don’t hurt. In fact, the process involves a fairly painless visit to St. Joseph’s Adult Infusion Center in Tampa, Fla., where most people in the waiting room are there for chemotherapy — a sobering observation.

Every eight weeks, I’m put in a private room where a friendly nurse starts an IV, draws blood, prepares me with medicines (Zofran for nausea, Benadryl in case of allergic reaction), and gives me all the ginger ale and packaged snacks I could ever want. My fiancé sits with me while we watch Bob Ross paint on the mounted television, or he’ll hold my hand while I fall asleep as the medicine continues its slow drip into my veins. The beeping infusion machine usually wakes me up when it’s all finished four hours later. The nurse bandages my right arm with the “good” vein, and we are set to leave and go on with our day. This is the easy part.

What’s not so easy: the onslaught of medical bills, the confusing explanations of benefits, and the economic burden I now bear.

If I didn’t have health insurance it would be far worse. I would owe about $23,000 for one single infusion.

But despite having a chronic, painful health condition, I consider myself lucky. I teach writing at the University of South Florida, where I enjoy good health insurance benefits. Even so, my cost per infusion is about $3,100 after adjustments.

At six infusions a year, that would come to about $18,600, half of my yearly salary as a visiting instructor. Fortunately, the policy I have now limits my out-of-pocket maximum to a few thousand dollars a year.

I get some help from Janssen, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Remicade. Its Carepath Savings Program promises $20,000 a year to eligible patients who need the drug. That is, if you can figure out how to submit the precise documents Janssen requires. Submitting paperwork for the rebate was a meticulous and time-consuming process that only took more time away from my work and more energy than I’d care to give again, especially considering the fatigue I often face as a side effect of the disease.

During the week when I was first navigating the rebate process, I cried five times — once each weekday morning as I made calls to my insurance company and to Janssen, trying to decipher what exactly I had to do so that my rebate requests were not denied. Exasperated, I wondered how a person whose health is worse than mine, or whose time is more limited than mine, could possibly attack the hoops I was diligently, strategically, and patiently jumping through. The tears, I promise, came after I got off the phone.

No one tells you that not just any explanation of benefits will do. No one tells you that you need the itemized bill that includes the drug’s non-brand name, infliximab, and that you can get this document only by calling your infusion center’s financial line, requesting that itemized bill, and waiting for it to come by U.S. mail. No one tells you that you’ll need an in-home scanner and access to a working computer in order to upload the required materials.

Luckily, I am relatively young, tech-savvy, and work in academia. I can wait on hold for 30 minutes at a time while I grade my students’ work online from home. But how would I manage if I had young children to look after, or if I didn’t have a good computer and WiFi connection?

The stress that I’ve accrued does not come only from having Crohn’s, or getting infusions. Most of it comes from the mental load associated with the disease and route of treatment.  What will I do after my current job contract ends in two years? Should I even think about having children, knowing I could pass this burden on to them? (Crohn’s has a genetic component.) And why is this necessary drug so expensive and hard to access?

If I ever lose insurance, will I take the risk of skipping infusions? Or will I dig myself deeper into debt, putting the treatments on credit in order to avoid future surgeries?

It makes me question the U.S. health-care system and its intentions. It makes me wonder why patients who need these drugs, and can’t afford to not have them, must pay so much in money, time and emotion. It’s these thoughts that keep me tossing and turning in bed at night.

At each infusion, I try to remain upbeat, present and thankful for my resiliency so far. I try to breathe deeply, knowing that I am doing the best I can to take care of myself. And I try, very hard, not to think about the inevitable bills that will soon greet me at my mailbox. At the infusion center, I mentally prepare, nonetheless, for the paperwork, for the calls, for the tasks ahead.

Annalise Mabe is a visiting instructor at the University of South Florida.

Remicade Cost (Infliximab) – $50 Per Month

Posted by Mitch Fraker – See Editorial Guidelines

Is Your Remicade Medication Too Expensive?

Learn How People Are Paying A Set Price Of $50 Per Month For Remicade Through Prescription Hope!

Are you looking for a place to get your Remicade (Infliximab) medication at an affordable price?Prescription Hope offers the top medications prescribed on a national level all for the set price of $50 per month for each medication!

Remicade Cost Comparison Chart

ENROLL NOW How It Works

Who is Prescription Hope?

Prescription Hope is a service-based company that offers access to FREE brand-name medication through patient assistance programs.Prescription Hope charges a service fee of $50 a month for each medication accessed through patient assistance programs to manage medication orders and refills. There are no other costs, fees, deductibles, or copays associated with the Prescription Hope service.Prescription Hope is not an insurance product, coupon card, discount program, or pharmacy.Prescription Hope is a service that helps you manage patient assistance programs. We do not manufacture, store, or ship medications.Our medication list includes the top-100 prescribed medications offered by U.S. based pharmaceutical manufacturers.Create your account to fill out a free enrollment form today!

Do I Qualify For Remicade Patient Assistance With Prescription Hope?

Prescription Hope works with thousands of Americans every month, obtaining prescription medications on their behalf for the set price of $50.00 per month per medication.The income guidelines to qualify for Prescription Hope are as follows;

• An individual earning up to or around $30,000 per year
• Households with a combined income of up to $50,000 per year
• Guidelines can increase in families making up to $100,000 per year

Keep in mind, if our advocates cannot obtain your Remicade medication for you, we will never charge a fee for that medication. Once you apply for Prescription Hope, our knowledgeable advocates start to work for you. Within the first 48 hours, we will determine whether or not you are eligible for any patient assistance programs for the medications you applied for. If we find a program that will work for you, we will reach out to you for any additional information needed, and reach out to your doctor for the prescription. Once we receive this information back, we immediately order your medication for you. After that, we work to manage, track and refill your medications on time, maintain up-to-date records, and renew your prescription medications every year. Once your application is approved, the first shipment of prescription medication typically arrives within four to six weeks. We also place refills to come in on a regular schedule.Through our program, Americans save thousands every year from the retail cost of their prescription medications through Prescription Hope.

Is Prescription Hope A Remicade Coupon Card, Generic, Or Insurance Product?

Prescription Hope is not a Remicade coupon card or insurance policy. Our program is also not a Remicade Generic. Prescription Hope is a national advocacy program that works with any coverage you may already have. Although Prescription Hope is not a Remicade coupon, individuals looking for a Remicade coupon can find more savings through Prescription Hope!When you obtain your medications from Prescription Hope, it will never cost more than $50.00 per month for each medication. If we cannot help you obtain your prescription medication, we will never charge a fee for that medication.

Can Prescription Hope Get My Remicade If I Have Insurance Coverage?

Because Prescription Hope is not an insurance plan, our program works alongside any coverage you may currently have to obtain your Remicade medication at an affordable price. Our national advocacy program does not have medication tiers, copays, or deductibles.Every year, Prescription Hope works with some of the most prominent insurance organizations across the United States. This includes Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, and Humana. When adding Prescription Hope, insurance organizations can provide a better level of care for their clients. Contact us today and learn more about how Prescription Hope can help individuals obtain affordable prescription medication. Below is a price comparison chart for some of our most popular medications.

Remicade: Prescribed As Part Of A Treatment For Rheumatoid Arthritis

Remicade can treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis, and ulcerative colitis. Remicade is known as a TNF-alpha medication, which belongs to a class of biologic medications. This medication works by regulating immune cells in the body, as well as inflammation. It is often combined with methotrexate for treating rheumatoid arthritis.Important Safety Information & Side Effects:

• Treatment with Remicade may cause serious infections, as the medicine affects the immune system.
• Unusual and rare cancers have been reported some patients taking Remicade, but it is unlikely.
• Before taking Remicade, talk to your doctor about all medical conditions. These conditions could include TB, risk of cancer, heart failure or other heart condition, hepatitis B, or nervous system disorders.
• Serious side effects may include but are not limited to infections, reactivation of hepatitis B, lymphoma, skin cancer, cervical cancer, heart failure, liver problems, blood disorders, lupus, or severe allergic reactions.
• The most common side effects may include respiratory infections, headache, rash, coughing, and abdominal pain.
• Before taking Remicade, talk to your doctor if you are pregnant, may become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. This medication may cause birth defects.
• Those taking Remicade should not receive live vaccines.

Prior to taking Remicade, let your doctor know about any other medications you are taking, especially if you are taking other biologic medications. When mixed with Remicade, certain drugs can cause severe adverse side effects or may impact the effectiveness of the medication. Is there a Remicade generic available?

• Since Remicade is a biologic medicine, there is currently no generic version available in the United States. Fraudulent online pharmacies may attempt to sell you a Remicade generic, but these medications are illegal and could be harmful if taken. Consult your physician for advice when it comes to purchasing your prescription medication.

For more information about Remicade and the full explanation of benefits, talk to your healthcare provider.As the fastest growing pharmacy program in the country, Prescription Hope can obtain Remicade for individuals at the set cost of $50.00 per month. To obtain prescription medications, Prescription Hope works directly with over 180 pharmaceutical manufacturers patient assistance programs to obtain Remicade at a set, affordable price.

Can Prescription Hope Help Me Obtain My Other Medications?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly one in five Americans regularly takes three prescription medications. Our advocates work on your behalf to obtain all your medications for the set price of $50.00 per month for each medication. Prescription Hope works directly with over 180 U.S. based pharmaceutical manufacturers patient assistance programs to obtain over 1,500 FDA-approved prescription medications. Visit our website to see our full list of medications and fill out an application.

How Are Enbrel, Remicade, and Humira Different?

TNF inhibitors (also known as TNF blockers) are a class of drugs that reduce inflammation by tempering the immune response. They are used to treat a variety of autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease.

Caiaimage / Agnieszka Wozniak / Getty Images

Three of the more popular TNF inhibitors used to treat RA are:

While all three drugs suppress the body’s response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)—a type of protein, called a cytokine, which triggers inflammation—each has a different chemical structure as well as specific benefits and limitations.

How TNF Inhibitors Work

TNF inhibitors are a type of biologic drug used to treat autoimmune diseases like RA. While they specifically target TNF, other biologics target cytokines such as interleukin or alter the way in which immune cells (called T-cells or B-cells) function.

TNF inhibitors have become increasingly important tools in the management and treatment of RA since their introduction in 1998. They are effective in well over 70% of people living with the disease.

When used in combination with methotrexate, TNF inhibitors are known to be even more effective at restoring the quality of life of RA sufferers.

Differences in Administration

While the mechanism of action is more or less the same for all three drugs, Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade have a number of key differences. Chief among them is the administration of the drugs and the frequency of dosing.

While there can be variations in how the drugs are used, they are generally prescribed as follows:

• Enbrel is delivered by subcutaneous injection (into the skin) once or twice a week. 
• Humira is delivered by subcutaneous injection every other week.
• Remicade requires an intravenous infusion every four to eight weeks.

Moreover, unlike Remicade, Enbrel and Humira can be self-administered by a dosage-controlled. Injectable pen (such as those used by diabetics to inject insulin).

Differences in Efficacy

Another way in which the drugs differ is the average duration of efficacy, meaning the amount of time you can use them before you need to change treatment.

To this end, a study conducted in 2013 by scientists at the University of Valladolid in Spain investigated the average treatment duration of Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade in 91 people with RA.

What they found was that both Enbrel and Humira had a duration of efficacy of over seven years (2,561 days and 2,769 days, respectively). By comparison, Remicade had an average treatment duration of just over five years (1,853 days).

Of the three drugs, Enbrel demonstrated the highest duration of efficacy, particularly among men who stayed on treatment for an average of almost seven years (2,225 days).  Moreover, older people on Enbrel were far less likely to change to another TNF biologic.

While the conclusions are limited by the scale of the study, the researchers concluded that, of the three TNF inhibitors, Enbrel demonstrated clear superiority. However, the choice of medication depends upon coexisting conditions, safety issues, and patient preferences. Insurance restrictions often guide the initial choice of therapy.

Differences in Cost

TNF inhibitors are all very expensive compared to other RA drugs, the issue of which is relevant to your treatment.

While the affordability of the drugs may be improved after factoring in insurance co-payments, retail discounts, and patient assistance programs, you can expect the overall price to fall more or less within these ranges:

• Humira cost between $1,800 and $2,400 per month.
• Enbrel averages more than $4,000 per month.
• A single dose of Remicade can cost anywhere from $1,250 to $2,500, depending on whether you need a shot every four weeks or eight weeks.

With Remicade, it is also important to factor in the hospital infusion costs. By contrast, Enbrel and Humira wouldn’t incur these costs if you decide to self-inject.

In the end, the true cost of treatment will be dependent on your insurance coverage and your eligibility for co-payment assistance as offered by the manufacturers of Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade.

How Much Does a Remicade Infusion Cost?

Written by:  Howmuchisit.org Staff

Last Updated:  August 9, 2018

Remicade, a part-human, part-mouse antibody, is a monoclonal chimeric antibody used as a treatment against TNF-alpha.

Also known as Infliximab, Remicade is approved for use alone or in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in situations ranging from slight to severe.  It is also approved for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

How much does a Remicade infusion cost?

The cost of Remicade infusions will greatly depend on the hospital/doctor you choose, where you live and if you have insurance.   For those who don’t have insurance, the costs can often range from $5,000 to $16,000 per infusion without health insurance coverage or any cost assistance.  This is the price for the infusion only and won’t include additional treatments/medication that’s necessary for your treatment.  Those who have health insurance can see costs ranging anywhere from as little as $0 to as much as $1,500.

Per vial, as according to GoodRX.com, can range from $1,100 to $1,300 without insurance for one 100mg vial at a local pharmacy.  The average treatment, depending on your condition, may need two to four vials.   This is just the price for the vial, and by the time you add in the doctor/hospital fees, you will get to the estimate mentioned prior.

According to this forum thread on CrohnsForum.com, forum members discussed the price of Remicade, with members claiming they had paid anywhere from as little as $0 after insurance to as much as seeing $16,000 being billed on their statement before insurance kicked in.

On another forum thread at HealingWell.com, a forum member who processes medical claims stated she sees prices ranging from $7,000 to $13,000 without insurance.

Forum members on BabyCenter.com talked about the costs of Remicade with insurance, and according to most of the members on the thread, they had paid anywhere from $750 until they hit the out of pocket maximum to $1,500.

Remicade is covered by most insurance plans as long as deemed medically necessary.  In this instance, you will only be responsible for your co-pay and deductible.  As for Medicare, the official Remicade website notes Medicare will only cover infusions in a doctors’ office or hospital outpatient facility.  Medicare does not cover infusions if provided by a retail pharmacy or home infusion company.  Medicaid also covers infusions for certain treatment settings with precertification.

Remicade infusion overview

Remicade is administered intravenously through an IV rather than injection.

On average, it could take up to three hours to perform the procedure, which is often done in an outpatient setting.

During the procedure, the powdered mixture will be blended with sterile water.  The solution will be injected into a large bag of sterile water.  Applying a tourniquet over the arm, the IV tubing is attached to the catheter inside of the vein.  Once attached, the infusion will drip slowly.  During the infusion, the nurse will monitor your blood pressure and check for any known symptoms.

A few side effects may be experienced during or shortly after administration.  These include but are not limited to chest pain, shortness of breath, rashes, itching, fever, nausea, vomiting, cough, etc.  Remicade should be discontinued if serious reactions occur.

On average, the treatment can last up to 12 weeks.

How can I save money?

Medication cost support is provided by Remicade, even if you have a private health insurance plan.  Refer to their official financial assistance page for more details.

A hospital setting, regardless of the situation, will always be cheaper than a doctors’ office or outpatient center.  If at all possible, try to have these infusions done at a local outpatient center to avoid the costly hospital charges.

An advocate at your local hospital or health department may be able to help point you in the right direction for financial assistance if you were to need it.

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Average Reported Cost: $11200

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Remicade / Remicade in Moscow

Instructions for use of the drug Remicade: pharmacological action, contraindications and side effects

Remicade is an infliximab-based immunosuppressant used to treat Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. The medicine is produced in the form of a solution for intravenous administration.

Description of the preparation

Remicade belongs to a class of medicines called biologics.They are obtained from living proteins using genetic engineering. Regular use of infliximab prevents the development of inflammatory reactions or reduces their severity in a number of autoimmune pathologies.

According to the official instructions, the indications for taking the medicine are as follows:

• active, severe and progressive forms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Crohn’s disease
• ulcerative colitis
• acylosing spondylitis
• psoriatic arthritis

90,013 psoriasis.

The medicine can be used to treat children over 6 years old if indicated. There are no data on the safety of using the drug at an earlier age.

Contraindications

Immunosuppressant is not prescribed:

• in the presence of hypersensitivity to the components of the solution
• in the acute stage of infectious diseases or in the severe course of chronic
• pregnant and lactating women
• children under 18 years of age (with Crohn’s disease, it is possible to use it from 6 years old).

Pay attention! Remicade is a prescription drug and should not be used on its own.

Method of application

The treatment regimen is compiled individually. The duration of the course depends on the underlying disease, effectiveness, and the patient’s state of health.

The dosage is calculated based on body weight. On average, this is 3-4 mg of infliximab per kg.

Adverse reactions

The following side effects have been reported in people taking Remicade:

• Increased risk of contracting infectious diseases or exacerbation of chronic diseases
• feeling unwell
• Decreased appetite
• fatigue
• fever
• skin rash
• joint and muscle pain
• Emergence of malignant tumors
• development of heart failure
• shortness of breath
• swelling of ankles or feet
• sudden weight gain
• jaundice
• disorders of the nervous system
• numbness or weakness of the face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden Confusion
• problems speaking or understanding
• severe headache
• allergic reactions, etc.

You should immediately inform your doctor about their appearance, who will adjust the dosage and prescribe symptomatic treatment, if necessary.

Quality Remicade at the best price can be bought on our website.

90,000 contraindications, side effects, dosages, composition – lyophilisate d / prigot concentrate d / i / administration in the drug directory

In clinical studies of Remicade, adverse reactions were observed in 60% of patients who received the drug and in 40% of patients who received placebo …

The table shows the likely side effects, both frequent (frequency> 1: 100, but <1:10), infrequent (> 1: 1000, but <1: 100), and those that are rare (> 1:10 000, but <1: 1000). The incidence of adverse reactions was established by comparing data with placebo. Most of them were mild to moderate. The most common adverse reactions were infusion-related reactions. The most common reason for interruption of treatment was infusion-related reactions:

• shortness of breath, urticaria, headache.

Adverse reactions identified in clinical trials

not often 9011

* Data obtained in the early phase of drug studies in patients with congestive heart failure.

Post-marketing surveillance

Since adverse reactions are reported spontaneously and the sample of patients is unknown, it is not always possible to establish a statistically significant incidence of adverse reactions or a causal relationship with drug intake.
In post-marketing practice, among serious side effects, infections prevailed, in some cases fatal. Tuberculosis (including miliary tuberculosis and extrapulmonary tuberculosis), as well as opportunistic infections, for example, caused by atypical mycobacteria, pneumocystis pneumonia, histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, cryptococcosis, rarely aspergillosis, listeriosis, candidiasis 1 and salmon ) or very rarely (<1:

From the nervous system: rarely (<1: 1000) or very rarely (<1:

• 10 000) – demyelinating lesions of the central nervous system (such as multiple sclerosis and retrobulbar neuritis ), demyelinating lesions of the peripheral nervous system (such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and multifocal motor neuropathy), neuropathy, paresthesia, seizures, transverse myelitis.

From the hematopoietic system: rarely (<1: 1000) or very rarely (<1:

• 10 000) – pancytopenia, hemolytic anemia, idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, agranulocytosis, hepatolienal T-cell lymphoma ( mainly in adolescents and young people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), leukemia.

Dermatological reactions: rare (<1: 1000) or very rare (<1:

• 10 000) – Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, psoriasis (including newly diagnosed and pustular psoriasis , mainly palmar-plantar localization).

From the digestive system: rarely (<1: 1000) or very rarely (<1:

• 10 000) – damage to hepatocytes, reactivation of hepatitis B, jaundice, autoimmune hepatitis, liver failure, pancreatitis.

Allergic reactions: rarely (<1: 1000) or very rarely (<1:

• 10 000) – anaphylactic shock, vasculitis.

Other: rarely (<1: 1000) or very rarely (<1:

• 10 000) – pericardial effusion, malignant neoplasms in children.

Extremely rare cases of short-term vision loss and myocardial ischemia / myocardial infarction, which developed within or within 2 hours after infliximab infusion, have also been reported.

In addition, interstitial lung disease (including pulmonary fibrosis / interstitial pneumonitis) has rarely been identified. Very rarely, some of these cases were rapidly progressive.

Infusion reactions

Infusion reactions in clinical trials were defined as any side effects that occurred during infusion or within 1-2 hours after infusion.In clinical trials, nearly 20% of patients who received infliximab experienced infusion reactions, compared with almost 10% of patients who received placebo. Approximately 3% of patients discontinued treatment due to the development of infusion reactions, however, all patients improved with the use of drug therapy or without it.
In a post-marketing study, extremely rare cases of short-term vision loss and myocardial ischemia / myocardial infarction that developed within or within 2 hours after the Remicade infusion were noted.

Infusion reactions after repeated use of Remicade

In clinical studies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis, repeated use of Remicade after a period of no drug treatment led to a higher incidence of infusion reactions compared with a regular maintenance regimen.

During clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis to assess the efficacy and safety of long-term maintenance therapy compared with repeated use of the Remicade induction therapy cycle, it was found that 4% (8/219) of patients in the episodic therapy group experienced serious infusion reactions. compared with <1% (1/122) in the maintenance group.The patients who participated in this study did not receive any concomitant immunosuppressive medication. In this study, episodic therapy was defined as the repeated application of a cycle of induction therapy (maximum 4 infusions at 0, 2, 6 and 14 weeks) of Remicade during an exacerbation of the disease after a period of no treatment. In this study, most of the serious infusion reactions occurred during the second infusion at week 2. Symptoms included, but were not limited to, shortness of breath, urticaria, facial edema, and hypotension.In all cases, treatment with Remicade was discontinued and / or another therapy was prescribed until the signs and symptoms were completely eliminated.

Delayed type hypersensitivity reactions

In a clinical study of 41 patients with repeated treatment with Remicade 2-4 years after a period of no drug treatment, 10 patients experienced adverse reactions that appeared 3-12 days after infusion. In 6 of these patients, the adverse reactions were serious.Signs and symptoms included myalgia and / or arthralgia with fever and / or skin rash. Some patients also developed itching, swelling of the face, lips, hands, dysphagia, hives, sore throat, and / or headache. There is insufficient clinical evidence to determine whether these reactions were associated with the various drugs that these patients were taking in this study. In all cases, the severity of signs and symptoms in patients was significantly reduced or disappeared with appropriate treatment.There is no data on the incidence of these phenomena after 1-2 years of absence of treatment with Remicade. These phenomena have rarely been observed in clinical trials and in post-marketing surveillance with retreatment intervals of up to 1 year. In a phase III study of patients with psoriasis, 1% of them developed symptoms of arthralgia, myalgia, fever, and skin rash early in the course of treatment after infliximab infusions.

Antibodies

In some patients, the formation of antibodies to infliximab is possible, which increases the frequency of infusion reactions (approximately 2-3 times).The simultaneous use of immunosuppressants reduces the formation of antibodies and reduces the frequency of infusion reactions.

In clinical studies with single and multiple doses of infliximab in the range of 1-20 mg / kg, antibodies to infliximab were detected in about 14% of patients who were taking immunosuppressants and about 24% of patients who were not taking immunosuppressants. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis who received the recommended repeated courses of infliximab with methotrexate, antibodies to infliximab were detected in approximately 8% of patients.Among patients with Crohn’s disease who received maintenance therapy, antibodies to infliximab were detected in 6-13%. The incidence of antibodies to infliximab was 2-3 times higher in patients who received treatment sporadically. Due to the limited possibilities of the method of determination, a negative result did not exclude the presence of antibodies to infliximab. Some patients with high titers of antibodies to infliximab showed signs of reduced treatment efficacy. In phase III studies, antibodies were determined in approximately 20% of patients with psoriasis after induction therapy with infliximab and further maintenance therapy at an 8-week interval without concomitant immunosuppressive therapy.

Infections

In clinical studies, 35% of patients who received Remicade ^® developed infections, compared with 22% of patients who received placebo. Serious infections such as pneumonia were reported in 5% of patients in both groups who took Remicade ^® and received placebo. In the III phase of the study after 24 weeks. Observation 1% of patients with psoriasis who received infliximab, compared with 0% of patients who received placebo, experienced serious infectious diseases.

Malignant neoplasms and lymphoproliferative diseases

In clinical studies of Remicade, cases of manifestation or recurrence of malignant neoplasms were noted in patients. The incidence of lymphoma in patients treated with Remicade was higher than the expected incidence of the disease in the general population. Patients with Crohn’s disease or rheumatoid arthritis, especially patients with a highly active form of the disease and / or long-term use of immunosuppressive therapy, are prone to a higher risk (several times) of developing lymphoma compared to the general population, even in the absence of TNF-blocking therapy.The incidence of other forms of malignant neoplasms (non-lymphoma) did not exceed, and in the control group of patients was lower than the expected incidence in the general population. In an experimental clinical study that included patients who were smokers or smokers in the past with moderate to severe COPD, the incidence of neoplasms was higher in the group of patients who received Remicade ^® compared with the control group of patients. The potential role of TNF-blocking therapy in the development of malignant neoplasms is not known.

Heart failure

In phase II clinical trials in patients with moderate or severe cardiovascular insufficiency, an increase in mortality was noted due to worsening cardiovascular insufficiency during therapy with Remicade, especially when an increased dose of 10 mg / kg was used. In post-marketing practice, cases of worsening cardiovascular failure while taking Remicade in the presence or absence of additional factors have also been reported.In addition, there were very rare reports of newly diagnosed cardiovascular insufficiency, incl. in patients who have not had any previous diseases of the cardiovascular system. Some of these patients were under the age of 50.

Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) / Anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies (dsDNA)

According to clinical studies, approximately half of patients who received infliximab (compared with approximately 1/5 of patients who received placebo) and did not have antinuclear antibodies (ANA) before treatment, the appearance of antinuclear antibodies was observed during treatment.Antibodies to double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) began to be detected in approximately 17% of patients who received Remicade ^® (compared to 0% in patients who received placebo). At the final examination, 57% of patients receiving infliximab had antibodies to double-stranded DNA.
Lupus-like syndrome has been reported infrequently.

Changes in the hepatobiliary system

In post-marketing practice, very rare cases of jaundice and hepatitis, sometimes with signs of autoimmune hepatitis, have been observed in patients who received Remicade ^® . A causal relationship between the development of these cases and treatment with Remicade has not been established.

In clinical studies in patients treated with Remicade, a slight or moderate increase in the level of ALT and AST was noted without the development of severe liver damage. The increase in ALT was ≥5 times the ULN. An increase in the level of aminotransferases (ALT to a greater extent than AST) was observed more often in the group of patients who received Remicade ^® than in the control group. This was noted both in the case of using Remicade as monotherapy, and when it is used in combination with other immunosuppressants.In most cases, the increase in aminotransferase levels was short-lived, but in a small number of patients, this increase was more prolonged. In general, the increase in ALT and AST levels was asymptomatic, while the decrease or return to the baseline level of these indicators occurred regardless of whether treatment with Remicade was continued or stopped, or concomitant therapy was changed.

Children

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA)

The safety and efficacy of Remicade ^® in children aged 4 to 17 years with JRA was evaluated in a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of 14 weeks duration, followed by an extension to 44 weeks (double-blind control, active treatment) …

Infusion reactions. These reactions were noted significantly less frequently in the group of children who received Remicade ^® at a dose of 6 mg / kg (17.5%), compared with the group of children who received Remicade ^® at a dose of 3 mg / kg (35%), moreover, 4 patients (out of 60) from this group developed serious reactions to the drug administration and 3 – a possible anaphylactic reaction. In the group of children who received Remicade ^® at a dose of 6 mg / kg, serious reactions to the drug administration were detected in 2 patients (out of 57), one of whom had a possible anaphylactic reaction. In 2 out of 6 patients who had serious infusion reactions, the duration of infliximab infusion was less than 2 hours.

Antibodies. Antibodies to infliximab were developed in 37.7% of patients with JRA who received Remicade ^® at a dose of 3 mg / kg, compared with 12.2% of patients who used 6 mg / kg. Antibody titers were significantly higher at 3 mg / kg than at 6 mg / kg.

Infections. Infections occurred in 68.3% of children with JRA who received infliximab at a dose of 3 mg / kg in combination with methotrexate for 52 weeks, in 64.9% of children with JRA who received infliximab at a dose of 6 mg / kg in combination with methotrexate for 38 weeks. and in 46.7% of children with JRA who received placebo in combination with methotrexate for 14 weeks. The most common side effects were infections of the upper respiratory tract (including pharyngitis), of the serious – pneumonia. Other infections are chickenpox in 1 patient and shingles (caused by the Varicella zoster virus) in 1 patient.

Crohn’s disease

In general, side effects in children with Crohn’s disease who received infliximab were comparable in frequency and nature of side effects to adults with Crohn’s disease. In clinical studies, adverse reactions that occurred more often in children compared with adult patients with Crohn’s disease, and who received the same treatment regimen, were anemia (10.7%), blood in the stool (9.7%), leukopenia (8.7%), hyperemia (8.7%), viral infection (7.8%), neutropenia (6.8%), bone fractures (6.8%), bacterial infection (5.8%) and allergic reactions from the respiratory system (5.8%).

During clinical studies, infections were reported in 56.3% of children and in 50.3% of adult patients with Crohn’s disease. Infections were more common in children who received the drug with an interval of 8 weeks than in children who received the drug with an interval of 12 weeks (73.6 and 38%, respectively). At the same time, serious infections were noted in 3 patients from the group with an 8-week treatment interval and in 4 patients from the group with a 12-week treatment interval. The most common infectious complications were upper respiratory tract infections and pharyngitis, the most common serious infectious complication was abscess. Pneumonia developed in 2 patients in the 8-week treatment interval group and in 1 patient in the 12-week treatment interval group. Shingles (caused by the Varicella zoster virus) was detected in 2 patients from the group with an 8-week treatment interval.

17.5% of patients randomized in the clinical trial had one or more infusion reactions, with 17% and 18% among patients at 8 and 12 weeks of maintenance therapy, respectively.There were no serious infusion reactions, 2 patients had anaphylactic reactions that were not serious.

Antibodies to infliximab were developed in 3% of children.

In a post-marketing study, children were more likely to report the development of serious infections (sometimes fatal), including opportunistic infections and tuberculosis; infusion reactions and hypersensitivity reactions. Serious spontaneous side effects were also noted, which included cases of malignant neoplasms, transient changes in liver enzyme activity, lupus-like syndrome, and the appearance of antibodies.The development of a very rare type of hepatolienal T-cell lymphoma was also recorded in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis who received Remicade ^® , mainly in adolescents and young males.

Remicade (Infliximab) – Remicade (Infliximab) 100 mg inexpensive

Description

Remicade (Infliximab) – Remicade (Infliximab) 100 mg is an anti-inflammatory drug made in Ireland, intended for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases.The drug belongs to the group of selective immunosuppressants. The drug is produced in the form of a lyophilized powder and is packaged in vials, each of which contains 100 mg of the active ingredient – infliximab. The price of Remicade in our online pharmacy is lower than in other retail chains.

Mechanism of action

The active substance, infliximab, is a complex of murine-human monoclonal antibodies. Once in the human body, it begins to bind with specific surface molecules with a negative effect on the body.Infliximab suppresses their autoimmune response, as a result of which:

• in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the level of hemoglobin increases;
• joints at the initial stage of the disease are healed;
• the inflammation of the affected joints decreases in a more severe stage;
• the development of polyarthritis stops.

An important therapeutic feature of the drug is the long-term preservation of the active component in the body (up to 6 months) with a continuing therapeutic effect.

Indications and contraindications

According to the indications for use, Remicade is prescribed to patients suffering from:

• rheumatoid arthritis;
• Crohn’s disease;
• ulcerative colitis;
• psoriasis and progressive psoriatic arthritis;
• active form of ankylosing spondylitis.

Contraindications to therapy are:

• individual intolerance to Remicade or any of its components;
• serious infectious diseases such as sepsis, tuberculosis, abscesses;
• age up to 18 years;
• pregnancy and lactation.