Cost of Humira in the UK??

April 15, 2014 1:37 AM

Can't get a straight answer from the NHS or Googles - does anyone know the actual cost of Humira (Adalimumab) if purchased privately in the UK?
posted by Carravanquelo to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

Have you tried the forums at healingwell.com? I find those to be the best source of information by real end users and the community is international.
posted by janey47 at 2:10 AM on April 15, 2014

Closest I can get is that it costs the NHS £9,156 (source, page 8) or £9,295 (source, page 2) for 26 40mg injections.
posted by peteyjlawson at 2:55 AM on April 15, 2014

Maybe I'm missing something here, but since it's prescription only then I'm not sure it's possible to purchase it privately (at least, not legally). peteyjlawson's answer is the closest you'll get I expect. The current prescription charge is £8.05.
posted by tsh at 3:59 AM on April 15, 2014

It's my understanding that you can see a Rheumatologist privately in the UK. They should be able to prescribe Humira. But while it wouldn't be covered through the NHS and it might allow you to bypass some of the protocols and diagnostic criteria for whatever the underlying condition is. I've heard of folks that either have problems with their NHS Rheumatologist or don't quite meet dx requirements and thus miss out on subsidised TNF-alpha antagonists.

To the specifics of the question. I was on Adalimumab for a while for AS in Australia (Remicade and Simponi since). The unsubsidised cost was always printed on the attached label. The Chemist had the information. It might be worth simply having a consult with your local pharmacist?
posted by michswiss at 4:16 AM on April 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

I don't have any of the old syringe boxes with labels attached, but my vague recollection is that each injection was something around $700-$800 AUD. I could check with my local chemist again if it would help.
posted by michswiss at 4:25 AM on April 15, 2014

The problem with private prescriptions is that chemists can charge whatever they want. There is no set "private cost". It will certainly be more than the NHS pays.

Assuming you have a private rheumatologist/dermatologist/gastroenterologist you should be able to find out from the hospital pharmacy before your prescription is dispensed. If you have an nhs consultant and you're thinking of going private they should be able to find out the cost for you before you change over.
posted by tinkletown at 8:23 AM on April 15, 2014

Here's details from an online pharmacy that shows it's £387.35 per unit, on a private prescription. Looks like it's sold in units of two, so the cost is £774.71 for 2 x 40 mg/0.8 ml vial.
posted by essexjan at 8:53 AM on April 15, 2014

The (registration required) British National Formulary says it's £352.14 per 40 ml at NHS costs, so that's the target price.
posted by ambrosen at 10:19 AM on April 15, 2014