Jeff: Cost of Xolair

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

Yes, Xolair is VERY expensive; around 500.00 a shot plus up to over 100.00 shot

for the allergy clinic to give it to you. If you fortunate enough to find a

doctor who will let you self inject yourself you will be very fortunate.

Quite a few people have problems getting their insurance to pay for it if you do

not have asthma, I will be very suprised if your insurance will not pay because

this drug is at the present time used for severe asthmatics only.

Personally, my doctor charges 114.00 a shot to give it to me and I

take 2 shots every 2 weeks. This does NOT include my co payment for the drug

itself.

Once again, thanks for joining and do ask your doctor for advice.

Doug

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

It is true that Xolair is currently only FDA approved for severe

allergic asthma. There have been some trials for severe peanut

allergy, but they are not complete yet, so it is not approved for

that use yet. In my opinion, it will be a long time before Xolair is

approved for allergic rhinitis because of the very high cost of the

drug...even then, it's doubtful that insurance companies would cover

it except in the very worst cases.

I do not have asthma, but I have a severe throat problem which

appears to be allergic in nature. My allergist has agreed to let me

try Xolair off-label for my throat, but my insurance will probably

not cover it for this use. That means I get to pay for it out of my

own pocket!

I called my specialty pharmacy to get cash pricing a few weeks ago.

Here is this pricing information they gave me for Xolair:

1 unit = $776.14

2 units = $1,071.38

3 units = $1,607.07

Can you say OUCH? And the prices just go up from there since the

maximum approved dose is 6 units per month. Your dose is dependent on

your weight and IgE level, which is determined by a simple blood

test. You can find the dosing chart on the Xolair website.

I hope this helps a little bit! Xolair is really only an option for

non-asthma allergic disorders if you are desperate enough to find a

way to pay for it! I'm selling my car...

Good luck,

, 32, Louisville

*Moderator additon to this post!

ANGELA, GREAT POST!

Doug