Which Country Is Revlimid (Lenalidomide) Cheapest In? — 2026 Guide

Why does the price differ so much between countries?

Revlimid (lenalidomide) is a thalidomide-analogue immunomodulatory agent used for multiple myeloma and for myelodysplastic syndromes with a deletion 5q abnormality, and unlike the hospital-infused biologics in this comparison, it is an oral capsule taken by mouth in 2.5 mg to 25 mg strengths once daily on a 21-of-28-day cycle. That single fact changes its whole distribution channel: Revlimid moves through retail and specialty outpatient pharmacies rather than hospital pharmacy procurement, which is why its published price behaves more like a conventional prescription medicine than like the infusion products elsewhere on this site.

Revlimid is the drug in this comparison with genuine generic competition, and that competition is the single biggest driver of the price variation you will see quoted for lenalidomide. Multiple generic lenalidomide products began entering the US market from 2022 under volume-limited settlement licences negotiated with the originator, gradually expanding supply each year, and generic lenalidomide has been widely available across the European Union since the compound's patent expiry in 2022. That is a structurally different situation from Kyprolis or Imfinzi, where no generic or biosimilar exists at all, and it means "cheapest country" comparisons for Revlimid increasingly turn on which market has the deepest generic penetration rather than purely on reference-pricing mechanics.

Where reference and negotiation frameworks still apply — for originator stock, or in markets where generics have not yet arrived — the same national systems shape the published price. Türkiye's Ministry of Health anchors its reference price to the lowest ex-factory price in a defined EU basket, converted using the "pharmaceutical euro" (Dönemsel Avro Değeri) fixed at 65% of the prior year's average Central Bank euro rate rather than the live rate, published via the TİTCK price list. Germany's AMNOG allows six months of free launch pricing before a negotiated price applies retroactively, and the UK's NICE weighs cost-effectiveness against a cost-per-QALY threshold raised from £20,000–£30,000 to £25,000–£35,000, announced 1 December 2025 and effective from April 2026 (see NICE), while the US market remains largely free-priced.

Because lenalidomide is a thalidomide analogue with confirmed teratogenic risk, every market that authorises Revlimid — originator or generic — requires a risk-management or pregnancy-prevention programme before a pharmacy can dispense it, restricting it to enrolled prescribers, pharmacies and patients who meet contraception and monitoring conditions. That controlled-dispensing requirement matters more for Revlimid than for almost any other oral oncology drug: even where a generic is legally available and channel competition should, in principle, ease access, the dispensing pathway itself remains tightly gated, so sourcing outside an enrolled programme is not simply unusual but a compliance and safety failure. For more on how Türkiye's reference pricing works generally, 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 Revlimid I'm being offered genuine?

No falsified batches of Revlimid have been recorded in the WHO's Medical Product Alert series to date. Because Revlimid is an oral capsule dispensed through retail and specialty pharmacy rather than a cold-chain hospital product, its authenticity risks look different: they concentrate on blister and carton integrity rather than temperature exposure, and buyers should not expect — or ask for — any cold-chain documentation for this product.

Since 2022, legitimate generic lenalidomide has entered the US and EU markets from several different manufacturers, so packaging, carton design and capsule imprint codes vary genuinely and legitimately from one authorised generic to another, and from the Celgene/BMS originator. That means appearance alone is an unreliable way to judge authenticity for this molecule: the track-and-trace code on the carton, not the colour or shape of the box, is what should be relied on.

• Check that the outer carton and blister strip are unopened, uncut and free of any re-gluing, overprinting or foil damage — Revlimid capsules should never be repackaged into loose containers.
• 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); rely on this code rather than on carton colour or design, since legitimate generic lenalidomide packaging varies by manufacturer and market.
• If the pack is sourced in Türkiye, verify its karekod against the national İlaç Takip Sistemi (İTS) track-and-trace system at its.saglik.gov.tr before accepting the dispense.
• Confirm the capsule's imprint code against the product's official prescribing information for the specific manufacturer on your carton, since imprint codes differ legitimately between originator and generic products.
• No falsified batches of Revlimid have been recorded in WHO's alert series to date, but still check your batch and lot number against the live list at our WHO falsified medicine alerts tracker.
• Only accept Revlimid dispensed through a pharmacy enrolled in the applicable pregnancy-prevention or risk-management programme; a channel that skips this enrolment step is not a lawful source regardless of how genuine the packaging looks.
• 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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