Buying IVF drugs in the UK

[F1nch]

Hi! I’m going to be starting self-funded IVF treatment at beginning of April and I am trying to find the best place to buy the drugs from as I know going through the clinic isn’t always the cheapest option. Does anyone have any recommendations / experience of where to get good value and a reliable service?
TIA!

Hi I'm going to order through the fertility medication centre. They are the cheapest I've come across was another lady on here recommended so can't comment personally on delivery yet but so far they have been very helpful

@try9ng do they also supply needles and sharps box? I’m interested too!

Yes I asked that question and they replied they supply all needles and sharps box

Great, thanks. I’ve been in touch and they’re sending a quote in the morning 👌🏻

@try9ng thank you for the recommendation! I’ve also heard that ASDA pharmacy is a good place to try but there’s not much on their website to go by.

@F1nch

Asda do it at a cost so no mark up so they can be cheaper

That being said I got a few quotes over my various cycles and there honestly wasn't much between what the clinic charged and what I could source myself - don't underestimate the absolute stress of hunting down medication especially if dosage changes or it gets changed mid cycle - for the sake of a couple of hundred pounds I'd consider getting the clinic to arrange it all

@TheHopefulEgg hopefully they can give you a good quote. @F1nch I've heard lots of good reports about Asda unfortunately the Asda here doesn't have a pharmacy. But the fertility medication centre said they have beat their price somehow. My clinic prescribes 14 days stims so that I should have more than needed, last cycle I only needed 10 days. My clinic doesn't offer meds and the local pharmacies are so expensive in comparison to the online ones. Hope you get sorted.

@F1nch I've got lots of mine from Asda but @twinsetandpearl is absolutely spot on when she says that sourcing various meds can be stressful (and Asda won't supply needles etc). If it ends up being not significantly different then I would also order through the clinic.

Although there are various fertility suppliers that work with clinics it is usually the clinic that sets the price. So my clinic used to use Pharmasure who were great and mostly very cheap but only because my clinic had set that price. However for some drugs they were way more expensive.

One of the drugs to watch out for price-wise is Lubion which is a progesterone (you may not be prescribed this anyway). The price can vary from £56 a pack to £120 a pack.

Best of luck x

My quote from TFMC was £150 lower than Asda’s cost for same meds. And they supply all needles plus sharps bin. I’m getting a cost from clinic supplier too as if I can pick up there (same street!) for not much more then it’s stress free!

£240 difference between clinic and TFMC, which isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things tbh. OH wondering if it’s best to stick with clinic pharmacy purely for peace of mind, especially as it’s pretty much next door to clinic 🤔

@try9ng @Janefx40 @TheHopefulEgg Thank you for the advice. There’s so much to consider. @twinsetandpearl great shout on the stress of the admin, the whole thing is already pretty mind blowing without adding that into the mix as well. And I hadn’t considered that needles wouldn’t be included at some places.
Sounds like TFMC is a great option. My current quote through the clinic is just over £2k so anything to bring that down would be a win

@F1nch do you have the exact prescription yet? My clinic send an approximate costing estimate which is just based on possible costs. Once you have your prescription, you need to speak to their recommended supplier and ask how much each item is and then call around. What can happen is that one medication is cheaper but another more expensive so you need to know specific costs.

Best of luck x

@Janefx40 that’s a good point! I have just had a quote back from TFMC and it’s £1300, including all the syringes etc. so £700 less. And delivered by the same company that the clinic was using. Amazing! @try9ng thank you for the recommendation

Hi there, I am replying to this thread as I have a lot of sealed IVF Frozen Embryo Transfer medication to donate to a fellow IVF woman if it is wanted or relevant / helpful to anyone. I ended up doing a natural transfer and no longer had a need to use the fertility medication. See the image of what it is. I also do have Menopur one box I would love to donate to someone if you or anyone has any need.

Also I should say I am aware that I can dispose of them at a pharmacy and not practice to prescribe dry GS / pass on someone else’s medication - but in case these were more valuable to someone who desperately will need a little saving on an already expensive and long process I am putting it out there :) I believe big pharma already profit from us in unimaginable ways so in case the strength of the drugs are suitable for the patient and their treatment is be happy to donate rather than discard
all the best :) baby dust to all

Hi @Ivfsen I’m due to start my first ivf (stimukated as I have a low ovarian reserve) and we are really struggling with money. If you have the meds still I would be very interested as anything that can’t reduce our costs would be really valuable. This will be our first, I’ve never even been pregnant and we are planning to get ivf in January/feb. He’s the pharmacies and the clinics can charge whatever they want because we will go to any length to avoid the sadness and emptinesss of a life unfulfilled.

Hi everyone, hope your IVF journey went well and good luck to anyone about to start.
I am about to start in a weeks time 😬.
I wanted to update anyone that is buying the medications, my clinic quoted £2,785. I reached out to around 5 other pharmacies and the cheapest was Pharmacy2U and Asda at £1,635. I am waiting on 2others to get back to me. Boots came in at just over £2k ex one of the drugs which is around £100.

Please make sure you leave enough time to get your medications and most places will not have stock of everything and take at least 3-5 working days. I only need Gonal and Menopaur ASAP which Asda didn’t have 1 of them. Fingers crossed it all arrives in time.

I do think it is ridiculous that we have to source medication like this, as the (my) clinics pharmacy is clearly ripping patients off. It is the last thing you want to be doing when you’re about to start this journey.

Hi @Lovexx86 thank you for the update. I’m about to start another round in the next couple of months so it’s good to know where the cheaper drugs can be found. It’s insane how much the clinics charge vs other outlets! Have you tried Stork? They were cheapest for me last time. Good luck with your journey! X

Hi F1inch, I have reached out to Stork and waiting for a cost. Will let you know how much they come back with. x

@Lovexx86 Asda is often cheaper because they charge cost price pretty much. It's a specific offer they make because the owner did IVF themselves. I guess we can't expect others to charge nothing but equally the price differences are crazy. The biggest different is Lubion which is £57 per box in ASDA and my clinic were charging £120 per box through their pharmacy!

Thanks Janefx40 I just couldn’t believe the price difference. IVF is an expensive process and for £1100 price difference for the medications is a lot of money. Lucky we have Asda that can offer us this prices :-) x