Which Country Is Kyprolis (Carfilzomib) Cheapest In? — 2026 Guide

Why does the price differ so much between countries?

Kyprolis (carfilzomib) is a second-generation proteasome inhibitor used against relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, supplied as 10 mg, 30 mg or 60 mg lyophilised vials that must be reconstituted and given by intravenous infusion on a weekly or twice-weekly cycle schedule. Because every dose is prepared and administered inside a hospital or infusion clinic, Kyprolis never reaches a retail pharmacy shelf, and its published price sits inside the same institutional procurement machinery as other hospital-administered oncology biologics. In Türkiye, the Ministry of Health anchors the reference price to the lowest ex-factory price found across a designated basket of EU member states, then converts it using the "pharmaceutical euro" (Dönemsel Avro Değeri), fixed at 65% of the previous year's average Central Bank euro rate rather than the live spot rate — a mechanism published via the TİTCK price list and gazetted in the Resmî Gazete.

Unlike the first-generation proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, which now faces generic competition in many markets after its patent expiry, Kyprolis has no biosimilar or generic equivalent anywhere carfilzomib is approved. That absence of competition means Kyprolis pricing is driven almost entirely by each country's negotiation or reference framework rather than by a competitive market, which keeps price gaps between countries wider and more persistent than they are for older myeloma regimens built around bortezomib.

Germany applies its AMNOG framework: a newly launched oncology biologic like Kyprolis can be sold at a manufacturer-set free price for the first six months, after which a negotiated price is applied and backdated to month seven. In the United Kingdom, NICE evaluates whether a treatment is cost-effective against a cost-per-QALY threshold that was raised from the long-standing £20,000–£30,000 band to £25,000–£35,000, announced 1 December 2025 and effective from April 2026 (see NICE) — a higher bar for what counts as cost-effective, though not itself a price.

The United States has no equivalent government reference mechanism for a hospital-administered biologic like Kyprolis: pricing is essentially free at launch and negotiated privately between the manufacturer, payers and pharmacy benefit managers, which is a structural difference from reference-pricing systems rather than a Kyprolis-specific quirk. Because most hospitals procure through tenders and confidential discounts rather than paying the headline list price, every cross-country comparison — including this one — should be read as a comparison of published reference prices, not of what any institution or patient actually pays. For the underlying mechanics of why Türkiye's published prices sit where they do, see our explainer on why medicines cost less in Türkiye.

How is the price set in each country?

The table below compares pricing systems, not prices. Each country publishes — or does not publish — its own official list, and that published list is the only figure worth relying on. Follow the link in the last column and read the current entry yourself.

How can I obtain a medicine legally from a lower-price market?

There is a lawful route in most countries, and it starts in the same place everywhere: a valid prescription in your own name, issued by the physician treating you. What differs is the import permit. The procedures below are stated only where they could be verified at the national authority.

United Arab Emirates. MOHAP operates a permit to import medicines for personal use through its Electronic Drug Establishment service. The permit is free and is issued within 3 working days. You log in with a MOHAP account or UAE Pass.

Saudi Arabia. Applications run through the SFDA Controlled Drugs System at cds.sfda.gov.sa, under a guideline published on 14 August 2025. Read the current SFDA regulations page before you travel — the requirements are revised periodically.

Qatar. For non-controlled medicines there is no pre-approval: you may carry up to a 60-day supply through the Green Channel, in the original packaging, with a copy of the prescription and a signed, stamped letter from your doctor. For controlled medicines you need advance approval and must use the Red Channel; supporting documents must be no older than 6 months and in Arabic or English.

Kuwait and Azerbaijan. Confirm the current procedure directly with the national authority before shipping or travelling — Kuwait Ministry of Health and Azerbaijan Tariff Council. We do not publish a step list for these two countries because the procedure could not be verified at source.

1. United Arab Emirates — obtain a prescription in the applicant's own name, issued within the last 3 months.
2. Obtain a medical report from the treating facility, authenticated by the health authority and issued within the last year.
3. Prepare an Emirates ID or passport copy for the applicant.
4. Log in to the MOHAP service with a MOHAP account or UAE Pass and submit the personal-import application.
5. Keep the quantity within the limit: no more than a 1-month supply for controlled medicines, and no more than a 3-month supply for non-controlled medicines.
6. Wait for the decision — the service is free and normally issued within 3 working days.
7. Contact MOHAP on 800 111 11 or at import.export@mohap.gov.ae if the application stalls.

What is named patient supply?

Named patient supply is the international concept behind almost every lawful cross-border medicine route. The clearest codified example is the United Kingdom's MHRA Guidance Note 14, built on Regulation 167 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

Four conditions define it: the order must be unsolicited; the product must be specified by the prescriber; the prescriber must be directly responsible for the patient; and there must be a genuine special clinical need that no authorised product meets.

The honesty point matters here: the European Court has held that "financial considerations cannot, in themselves" establish a special clinical need. A lower price in another country is not, by itself, a lawful basis for a named-patient import. The lawful bases are clinical.

Is the Kyprolis I'm being offered genuine?

No falsified batches of Kyprolis have been recorded in the WHO's Medical Product Alert series to date, which is reassuring but not a reason to skip verification — falsified oncology biologics circulate through unlicensed distributors well before any regulator issues a public alert, and carfilzomib's tightly restricted hospital-supply channel is itself part of why reported incidents remain rare.

Because Kyprolis is a lyophilised vial reconstituted immediately before infusion, any inconsistency in the powder's appearance, vial fill, or reconstitution behaviour is a legitimate reason to pause and verify before the dose reaches a patient, and pharmacy staff receiving stock outside an authorised distributor relationship should treat that alone as a red flag.

• Scan the carton's GS1 DataMatrix and confirm it decodes to AI 01 (GTIN), AI 21 (serial number), AI 17 (expiry) and AI 10 (batch) — a code that will not scan, or scans to the wrong product, is a hard stop.
• If the vial is sourced in Türkiye, check that its karekod is notified to the national İlaç Takip Sistemi (İTS) track-and-trace system at its.saglik.gov.tr before it leaves the pharmacy.
• Ask for a continuous 2–8°C temperature log covering the actual shipment you are receiving, not a generic cold-chain certificate — Kyprolis vials must never be frozen and should be protected from light.
• No falsified batches of Kyprolis have been recorded in WHO's alert series to date, but still cross-check the batch and lot number against the WHO's live list at our WHO falsified medicine alerts tracker before administration.
• Confirm the vial was reconstituted immediately before infusion by staff who can account for its unbroken cold-chain custody from receipt to preparation.
• Source Kyprolis only through a hospital pharmacy or authorised oncology distributor; Amgen does not sell carfilzomib through retail or online pharmacy channels.
• Review the full verification workflow in our guide to checking that a medicine is genuine.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Resmî Gazete — Beşeri Tıbbi Ürünlerin Fiyatlandırılmasına Dair Karar No. 11031 — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• TİTCK — published medicine price list — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• MOHAP (UAE) — import medicine for personal use — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• SFDA (Saudi Arabia) — regulations — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• SFDA Controlled Drugs System — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• Qatar MOPH — drug prices — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• Kuwait Ministry of Health — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• Azerbaijan Tariff Council (Tarif Şurası) — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• NICE (United Kingdom) — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• G-BA (Germany) — AMNOG benefit assessment — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• RAND — International prescription drug price comparisons (published 1 Feb 2024) — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• Frontiers in Pharmacology — European hospital price transparency study (9 Mar 2026) — retrieved: 2026-07-28
• MHRA Guidance Note 14 — supply of unlicensed medicinal products — retrieved: 2026-07-28

Country availability pages for this medicine

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