Neupogen assistance programs?

[tinal59]

I have been doing "some" reading on Neupogen and have read that although it is not FDA approved for the treatment of,HCV, no generics being manufactured and is quite expensive.  Are there assistance programs out there to assist with cost of Neupogen if my Dx prescribes. I am on a basic health program and co-pay 50% for all meds.

[Trish77]

Your husband hasn't started treatment yet.  He may not require neupogen.  If he does, it's covered under Trillium Drug Plan as are the treatment drugs, according to what you qualify for based on your income.  Yes, it is available in Canada as is Procrit - it's called Eprex in Canada.  Eprex is also covered under Trillium.

When your husband starts treatment, his doctors will let him know the process for applying for funding through Trillium for his treatment drugs in general.  However, it depends what Stage he's at.  The archaic stipulation still exists that Trillium will not fund for a Stage 1 and will make you wait until you are Stage 2 to fund you.  Grrrr.  The doctors sometimes have to advocate for treatment for a patient at Stage 1.  Sometimes Trillium agrees to fund a Stage 1.. sometimes they don't.

[cwar]

Hi there,
Does anyone know if there are assistance programs out there in Canada for the same thing, Neupogen?  Is it even allowed for sale in Canada?

[tinal59]

Yes, I agree with you on Roche. After begging/borrowing $$$ from family for the first 2 shipments of Pegasys from private pharm & insurance. I applied to Roche assistance program and in 2 weeks my first no cost shipment was on it's way. The only complaint that I have is I have to be home to sign for it. They have been wonderful & always available to answer all my questions A+++

[lalapple]

the Amgen people were very very unfriendly when i called them to have my spoiled Neups replaced after hurricane knocked out 3 days of power from my house.  they said there was no way they could replace any of them (8 vials of Neup fresh batch) so my insurance and i had to pay for another batch.  not sure if there are any assistance programs with them, if so, i don't think they would be affiliated since none of the Neup answering service never mentioned a thing of how i could get my Neup replaced for free.
don't use Neup unless you really really need it, it has A LOT of side effects and i take it every week.  gives me terrible headaches, and when i take a Tylenol for the headache, i get tons and tons of rash for the drug effects that takes at least 5 days to go away.  can't really take Advil since it is know to reduce platelet counts and my numbers were already down to double digits.

Roche Pegasys, on the other hand, was wonderful, i had exactly 2 Pegs spoiled and that's exactly how many they replaced, then sent it here right when the mail service was back running.  although they gave me the Pegasys in vials in different concentrations, it was nice enough for them to replace such expensive medication for me.  now that's what i call a professional business!  and i think i'm pretty sure there is at least one assistance program associated with Roche.

[Bill1954]

Hi Tina,

Needymeds is a great resource for all things prescription drugs; it’s not limited to HCV. Here’s the link for their section on Neupogen:

http://www.needymeds.org/drug_list.taf?_function=name&name=Neupogen

The phone number for Amgen’s Patient Assistance Program number is:
888-762-6436
You might want to navigate to the Needymed home page and bookmark their site for future use; Patient Assistance has saved my butt many times over the last several years.

Good luck—

Bill