Which Country Is Soliris (Eculizumab) Cheapest In? — 2026 Guide

Why does the price differ so much between countries?

Soliris (eculizumab) is a terminal complement C5 inhibitor supplied as a 300 mg/30 mL intravenous infusion concentrate, administered on a recurring schedule in a hospital or specialist infusion unit for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH), atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS), generalised myasthenia gravis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Because it is a chronic, repeat-dose hospital infusion rather than a one-off treatment, its total cost of care is driven as much by infusion frequency and monitoring as by the per-vial price, and every comparison of "list price" between countries captures only one input into that larger picture. In Türkiye, TİTCK sets the reference price from the lowest ex-factory price across 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, as published on the TİTCK price list and gazetted in the Resmî Gazete.

Unlike many ultra-orphan biologics, Soliris now faces genuine biosimilar competition: eculizumab biosimilars such as Bkemv and Epysqli have received approvals in several jurisdictions following the originator's patent expiry, and biosimilar entry is one of the few developments that can meaningfully move a reference price over time, because health systems that use external reference pricing baskets will eventually pick up the lower biosimilar price once it is included in a comparator country's official list. Germany's AMNOG framework allows a free launch price for six months before a negotiated price applies retroactively from month seven, and biosimilar availability strengthens a payer's negotiating position in that process. The UK's NICE evaluates such therapies against a cost-per-QALY threshold that was raised from £20,000–£30,000 to £25,000–£35,000, announced 1 December 2025 and effective from April 2026 (see NICE); a wider threshold changes the cost-effectiveness calculation but is not a price change in itself.

The United States has no equivalent government reference mechanism: manufacturers set an opening price freely, and payers negotiate confidential rebates. The RAND Corporation's 2022 international price comparison, published 1 February 2024, found gross US list prices averaged 278% of prices across 33 other high-income countries for all drugs and 422% for brand-name originator products specifically — a market-wide structural gap rather than a figure specific to Soliris. Soliris also carries a mandatory risk-management requirement: patients must receive meningococcal vaccination at least two weeks before the first infusion (or receive antibiotic prophylaxis if urgent treatment cannot wait), because C5 inhibition materially raises the risk of life-threatening meningococcal infection. That REMS-type safeguard, enforced through the prescribing and monitoring programme in most jurisdictions, is precisely why sourcing Soliris outside a treating specialist centre is dangerous regardless of any price difference: the vaccination, monitoring and emergency-access plan are inseparable from the infusion itself.

Because eculizumab is a chronic hospital-administered infusion with a formal risk-management programme attached, list-price comparisons between countries should be read as a starting point for a conversation with a treating haematologist or nephrologist, not as a shopping guide. For the underlying mechanics behind Türkiye's published reference prices, 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 Soliris I'm being offered genuine?

No falsified batches of Soliris have been recorded in the WHO's medical product alert series to date. That absence of a documented alert is not a reason to relax verification: eculizumab is a low-volume, high-value hospital biologic administered under a mandatory vaccination and monitoring programme, which naturally limits informal secondary markets — but the emergence of approved biosimilars means patients and clinicians must now also confirm exactly which product, originator or biosimilar, is being infused and that it is correctly documented.

Because Soliris requires meningococcal vaccination and structured risk-management enrolment before the first dose, any offer to supply it outside a treating specialist centre bypasses a safety requirement that exists independently of authenticity concerns — a genuine vial administered without proper vaccination and monitoring still carries a serious infection risk, so verification of the product must go hand in hand with verification of the care pathway.

• Scan the carton's GS1 DataMatrix and confirm it decodes correctly to AI 01 (GTIN), AI 21 (serial number), AI 17 (expiry) and AI 10 (batch/lot) before the infusion centre accepts the vial.
• If the vial originates in Türkiye, verify its karekod is registered in the national İlaç Takip Sistemi (İTS) track-and-trace platform at its.saglik.gov.tr before dispensing.
• Request an unbroken 2–8°C temperature log for the specific shipment, and reject any vial that shows particulates, discoloration, or evidence of freezing.
• Confirm in writing whether the product supplied is originator Soliris or an approved biosimilar such as Bkemv or Epysqli, since these are distinct authorised products that must be documented accurately in the patient record.
• Verify that meningococcal vaccination has been completed at least two weeks before infusion (or that antibiotic prophylaxis is in place) as part of the same risk-management check as product authenticity.
• Cross-check the batch number against our WHO falsified medicine alerts tracker as routine practice, even though no Soliris-specific alert exists at present.
• Review the general verification workflow in our guide to checking that a medicine is genuine before accepting any cross-border supply.

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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