This is the chart on the top selling drug brands that I spotted in a linkedin post and it made me go hunting for the data. The reason I went looking for the data was was mainly the interest I have in healthcare. To be specific, I have only heard about 2 brands in the chart above – Humira and Prevenar . I had a very vague idea about the former – Humira – but knew the later -Prevenar – very well. I think anyone with a baby will know the later very well.
Prevenar is the most expensive among the vaccines (Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) that are recommended for babies in India. That it became the world’s number 1 vaccine within 5 years of its launch, that it holds 62% market share in its segment in India (18% in the overall vaccines market), that it contributes around Rs.70-75 crore every quarter to Pfizer India were all the other facts I knew. And that made me look at the other brands and I wondered how expensive they were. Which is the reason for this post.
The following are the prices. First the average retail price in US$ (from GoodRx), next the maximum retail price in Rs if the brand is available and lastly the cheapest price of an alternative brand with the same/similar active (from 1mg). Just a note, the dosage and delivery formats might be different – I’ve taken the closest matches of dosage across US and India.
| USA | India | |||||
| Product | Active Ingredient | Dosage/Format | Price $ (if brand exists) | Dosage/Format | Price Rs (if brand exists) | Price Rs (cheaper alternative) |
| Humira | Adalimumab | 40mg x 2 pens | 5,393 | 40mg x 1 syringe | NA | 25,000 |
| Harvoni | Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir | 90mg/400mg x 28 tablets | 34,065 | 90mg/400mg x 28 tablets | NA | 23,810 |
| Enbrel | Etanercept | 50mg x 4 surecicks | 5,157 | 50mg x 1 vial | 17,000 | 10,000 |
| Remicade | Infliximab | 100mg x 1 vial | 1,207 | 100mg/10ml x 1 vial | 41,039 | 32,000 |
| MabThera/Rituxan | Rituximab | 100mg | Prescription only | 100mg/10ml x 1 vial | NA | 5,000 |
| Revlimid | Lenalidomide | 10mg x 28 capsules | 17,116 | NA | 56,000 | |
| Avastin | Bevacizumab | 400mg/16ml | Prescription only | 400mg/16ml x 1 vial | 1,07,065 | |
| Herceptin | Trastuzumab | 440ml x 2 vials | Prescription only | 440mg x 1 vial | NA | 57,570 |
| Lantus | Insulin Glargine | 3ml x 5 solostarpens | 437 | 100IU/3ml x 1 cartridge | 597 | 450 |
| Prevnar/Prevenar 13 | Pneumococcal 7-Valent Conjugate | 0.5ml x 1 syringe | 219 | 1ml x 1 vial | 3,801 | |
| Xarelto | Rivaroxaban | 20mg x 30 tablets | 470 | 20mg x 28 tablets | 4,060 | |
| Eylea | Aflibercept | 2mg/0.05ml x 1 vial | Prescription only | |||
| Lyrica | Pregabalin | 75mg x 60 captsules | 476 | 75mg x 14 capsules | 842 | 93 (10 capsules) |
| Neulasta | Pegfilgrastim | 6mg/0.6ml x 1 syringe | 6,828 | 6mg x 1 vial | NA | 8,125 |
| Seretide/Advair | Salmeterol | 250mcg/50mcg x 1 inhailer | 446 | 50mcg x 30 rotacap | NA | 83 |
| Copaxone | Glatiramer | 20mg/ml x 30 syringes | 2,087 | 20mg x 1 vial | NA | 340 |
| Sovaldi | Sofosbuvir | 400mg x 28 tablets | 28,653 | 400mg x 28 tablets | 18,207 | |
| Tecfidera | Dimethyl Fumarate | 240mg x 60 capsules | 6,986 | |||
| Januvia | Sitagliptin | 100mg x 30 tablets | 470 | 100mg x 7 tablets | 315 | |
| Opdivo | Nivolumab | 100mg/10ml x 12 vials | 29,052 | |||
As you can see, most of these drugs are fairly expensive (as an aside see the list of the most expensive drugs in US) and out of reach of the average Indian. Why and how these are so expensive is another story.
