Following is a description of the best and most common ways to buy rapamycin for anti-aging (We really recommend working with a doctor since anti-aging is a new application for this drug):
- Get a doctor’s prescription and purchase with a prescription. This is done by contacting one of the doctors who is prescribing rapamycin for aging. See our list of doctors prescribing rapamycin for aging.
- Note that Rapamycin for aging typically won’t be covered by insurance / healthcare programs (yet) so you’ll need to plan to pay for it yourself.
- When people can’t find a doctor in their area / country that will prescribe rapamycin, they are purchasing directly from online pharmacies that sell rapamycin without need for a prescription. This is also something people do to save money on their rapamycin (buying from international sources). See detailed descriptions on this process in the “Importing Rapamycin” post, and our list of “Reliable Online Pharmacies” that people have reported good results with.
- For people in Europe, another option is to purchase rapamycin in Turkey. It is inexpensive and we understand you do not need a prescription in Turkey for rapamycin (Rapamune / Sirolimus). People are buying in Turkey when they are on vacation there, buying from a few resellers via online services, or having friends who live or visit there and who mail or bring them the rapamycin. See this discussion - No Prescription Needed for Rapamycin Purchase in Turkey.
- Getting Rapamycin: Once you have a prescription, you can purchase either the brand name drug (Pfizer Rapamune) or the generic sirolimus. Brand name pricing is 300% to 500% higher than the generic medication. But, there seem to be increasing evidence that generic medications (broadly speaking) are a little bit riskier than the brand name products. See our article about testing your medications.
- In the USA, you can use GoodRx coupon / service and you’ll pay around $3/mg to $6/mg for the generic rapamycin (or around $160 to $220 for a month’s supply.
- Pricing Examples from GoodRx: GoodRx Rapamycin/Sirolimus Current Pricing
- See Amazon Pharmacy Pricing for Rapamycin / Sirolimus (Generic)/ Rapamune (Pfizer Brand) - note, there seem to be good prices for Prime members, 90 day supply - $383 for 90 tablets ($4.25/1mg tablet) last time I checked:
Amazon Pharmacy: Sirolimus (Generic for Rapamune, Oral Tablet)
Amazon Pharmacy: Rapamune (Brand for Sirolimus, Oral Tablet) - Prices for rapamycin from the Indian online pharmacies is typically around $1.00 to $1.25 per mg tablet (see details below).
Medicine Pricing - USA vs. Rest of World
Because rapamycin for anti-aging is not covered by insurance, the cost is entirely paid by the user of the drug. And, if we follow the example of the studies done in mice, to gain the maximum lifespan benefits of rapamycin it seems that we may need to take it for the rest of our lives, so the cost per year will add up greatly over time.
As it is today, the US has the highest drug prices in the world due to the combined effects of lack of competition and limited regulation. A recent study revealed that U.S. prices were 218 percent higher than prices in Canada (or, alternatively, Canadian prices were 46 percent of U.S. prices). U.S. prices were 256 percent of those in the 32 OECD comparison countries combined. In comparisons with individual countries, U.S. prices ranged from 170 percent of prices in Mexico to 779 percent of prices in Turkey. Among comparisons with individual G7 countries, U.S. prices ranged from 209 percent of prices in Japan to 258 percent of prices in France.
Because of this we see increasing number of people who are looking towards other countries - from Canada and Mexico, to more distant places like India - to fill their prescriptions because the medications there are frequently a fraction of the cost that they would be in the USA.
The cost savings you can see when buying from foreign suppliers of medicine is as true for rapamycin (sirolimus) as it is for any other medications.
Pfizer Rapamune and Generic Sirolimus
In the USA the first and main brand of rapamycin is Pfizer’s Rapamune. The generic name for rapamycin is “sirolimus”. If you are thinking of buying some rapamycin be sure to read this article about all the different names for rapamycin. You may get rapamune if you have a prescription in the USA or you may choose the generic sirolimus due to its lower cost.
Rapamycin Cost / Pricing Summary
For example, the typical cost comparison for Rapamycin / Sirolimus looks something like this:
Rapamycin USA Prices:
Pfizer Rapamune Brand Name Product:
Pfizer Rapamune Average Street Price: $1300 for 30 x 1 mg tablets ($43 per 1 mg tablet)
GoodRx Discounted Pfizer Rapamune Price: $950 for 30 x 1 mg tablets ($31.60 per 1 mg tablet)
Rapamycin Generic Sirolimus:
Generic Sirolimus Typical Street Price: $480 for 30 x 1 mg tablets ($16 per 1 mg tablet)
GoodRx Discounted Generic Sirolimus Price: $110 for 30 x 1mg tablets ($3.6 per 1 mg tablet)
Rapamycin India Prices:
Approximate India Sirolimus Pricing:
Zydus Siromus (Sirolimus) Price High: 1000 rupees for 6 tablets of 1 mg ($2 per 1 mg tablet
Zydus Siromus (Sirolimus) Price Low: 500 rupees for 6 tablets of 1 mg ($1 per 1 mg tablet)
Note: The India internet pharmacies have generally been amazingly good as far as delivering the medicines they promise. We’ve spoken to a many people who have ordered their medicines from India Pharmacies and everyone have had good experiences and always have received the medicine that they ordered. The only exceptions we are aware of being that a couple of times people’s orders have been held up or blocked at US customs.
Rapamycin Yearly Cost Estimates:
Most people taking rapamycin for anti-aging purposes report taking somewhere between 5mg per week and 10mg per week (all in a single dose per week). As you can see, there is a significant savings. If you’re taking rapamycin for life extension at the 5mg dose, once per week level, you’ll need about 260 of the 1mg tablets a year, and if you’re at the 10mg per week level you’ll need about 520 of the 1mg tablets per year.
The cost at the USA high end for 520 tablets, Rapamune brand, is $22,000+
The cost at the USA mid-range for 520 tablets, Sirolimus Generic, is $8,300+
The cost at the USA mid-range for 520 tablets, GoodRx Sirolimus Generic, is $1,800+
The cost at the India Low end for 520 tablets, Zydus Siromus, is around $520
We have heard from users in India who have had this to say:
“I live in India so getting it is no problem you just go up to the counter and ask for it. As for the cost it costs 6 dollars for 10 * 1mg tablets” (so, approximate cost of $312 for a year’s supply of 520 1mg tablets)"
Note: Some people are getting even lower prices by purchasing raw sirolimus powder (CAS ID 53123-88-9) from either laboratory reagent suppliers in the US (you need to work in a lab or biology or chemistry department of a university typically to get access to these, or know someone who does), or purchasing the raw sirolimus powder from vendors in China. We really discourage the later of these options as you have no legal recourse if the product is contaminated, you don’t know the quality (and its our belief that testing of any raw product from China is absolutely a requirement).
If you are looking at using cheaper medications from outside the USA, please review our section on testing your medications for purity, dosing and common contaminants.
And, for information on the cheapest approach to buying rapamycin, read this story: Importing Rapamycin - People’s Experiences.
Also related: List of Reliable Online Pharmacies for Buying Rapamycin, etc
