The reason why albendazole is so expensive is because albendazole lacks generic competition as well as corporate pricing strategies.
Although albendazole has been around for decades, only a few companies have the FDA approval to sell albendazole.
And because parasitic infections are relatively rare in the United States, the pharmaceutical companies also have very little incentive to manufacture it, although the ones who do manufacture albendazole hold the rights to be able to set significantly higher prices for the albendazole medication to maintain their profitability.
The patents for albendazole have expired, although obtaining the FDA approval for a generic competitor of albendazole is expensive and without having multiple manufacturers of albendazole to drive the cost down, the few that control the market for albendazole keep the price high.
And because albendazole treats neglected tropical diseases, which are not as common in the United States, like hydatid disease and cysticercosis as well as other parasites, the volume of prescriptions that are sold for albendazole is very low, which causes companies to raise the price to make up for the lack of volume sold by charging the high prices per pill.
The rising cost of albendazole is also a classic example of off patent exploitation, which is when a smaller pharma company acquires the sole marketing rights to an essential drug, they then usually drastically increase the list price.
The medication albendazole is a prescription only medication and is regulated by the FDA as it requires medical supervision to ensure that you are getting proper dosing and to monitor for any side effects.
Your doctor will have to see you and determine that you have the parasites that the albendazole medication will treat.
Then you can take the prescription from the doctor to a pharmacy either online or in person to buy it.
The cost of albendazole is between $450.00 to $950.00 for a standard course of 4 tablets of 200 mg each.
Although if you have GoodRX coupons you can get the cost of albendazole around $25.00 to $35.00
Most health insurance plans and Medicare Part D cover generic albendazole, provided it is used for an FDA-approved condition with lab confirmation.
However, coverage for albendazole often requires "prior authorization" to ensure the medication is medically necessary for your specific parasitic infection.
If covered, your out-of-pocket cost for albendazole will depend on your specific plan's tier and deductible phase.
The medication albendazole clears parasitic infections by cutting off the energy supply of the worms or parasites, which immobilizes the parasites and worms and eventually ends up killing them.
The medication albendazole is a broad spectrum anthelmintic medication that selectively targets the cellular structure of the parasites instead of human cells.
The medication albendazole binds to a protein that is called β-tubulin inside of the parasite.
This is what prevents the protein from assembling into microtubules, which are essential for maintaining the worm's cell structure and transport systems.
And without the functioning microtubules the worms or parasites lose their ability to absorb glucose also known as sugar from it's surroundings and because the worm or parasite is deprived of glucose, it rapidly depletes it's glycogen energy reserves, which leads to a loss of adenosine triphosphate (ATP production that then starves the parasite and paralyzes and kills the parasite.
And in addition to killing the adult worms, albendazole can also prevent larval forms from growing and even keep certain parasite eggs from hatching.
When taken on an empty stomach, very little albendazole is absorbed into the human bloodstream.
This is ideal for treating localized gastrointestinal parasites like hookworms or pinworms, as the drug stays concentrated in the intestines.
If you take the albendazole with a high-fat meal, systemic absorption increases significantly.
Doctors leverage this for infections outside the gut, such as in the brain or liver.
Once absorbed, the liver rapidly converts the albendazole into its primary active form, albendazole sulfoxide.
This metabolite travels through the bloodstream to reach tissues, cross the blood-brain barrier, and penetrate deep parasitic cysts.
The broken-down compounds are primarily filtered out of the body through bile and bowel movements, with less than 1% excreted through urine.
Albendazole also sometimes cause hair loss, as hair loss also known as alopecia is a rare side effect of albendazole.
Not everyone who takes albendazole experiences hair loss, but it's a possible side effect as albendazole works by interfering with the cell division in parasites and in rare cases it can rapidly divide human cells, like those in hair follicles.
Although the hair loss when taking albendazole is often fully reversible and temporary after you stop taking the albendazole.
Hair regrowth often begins within a couple of weeks of stopping treatment with albendazole.
The medication albendazole is a broad spectrum FDA approved broad spectrum prescription medication that is used to treat various worm infections,
The medication albendazole is commonly prescribed and used to treat hookworms, tapeworms and pinworms as well as roundworms and even more serious tissue infections such as pork tapeworm larvae in the brain also known as neurocysticercosis and hydatid disease.
The way albendazole works is it prevents the parasitic worms from absorbing sugar also known as glucose, and starves the worms of the needed energy they require to survive as well as reproduce, which eventually causes them to die.
For common worms like hookworms and pinworms, albendazole is often administered and taken as a single 400 mg dose, which is usually repeated in 2 weeks to prevent reinfection of the worms.
For severe infections like cystic hydatid disease, albendazole is often taken as 400 mg dose 2 times a day with your meals, and often in extended treatment cycles like 28 days on, 14 days off.
It's also highly recommended that you take albendazole with food such as a fatty meal as it significantly increases the effectiveness and absorption of the medication and you may even crush or chew the albendazole tablets if you desire.
However just note that albendazole can harm an unborn baby and women of childbearing age and women who are pregnant should take albendazole, or if you're planning to become pregnant you should avoid sex or use effective contraception during treatment and for a short period afterward.
Common mild side effects of taking albendazole include nausea, vomiting, mild stomach upset, dizziness, or temporary hair loss.
Rare but severe side effects of taking albendazole include possible bone marrow suppression, liver enzyme elevations or severe allergic reactions.