How Assistance Works
Streamlining our patient’s specialty pharmacy experience with unmatched full-service convenience
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1. Check Your Coverage/Benefits Verification
Our team of expert billers finds the best avenues of coverage that minimize out-of-pocket costs.
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2. Transfer Prescription to AmeriPharma®
We process your prescription by working with your previous pharmacy or prescriber, making the transition quick and easy.
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3. Prior Authorization
Our team of specialists obtains approval from your insurance companies within 24 to 72 hours.
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4. Copay Assistance & Financial Aid
We secure financial aid and decrease copays, out-of-pocket expenses, and high deductibles. To date, AmeriPharma® Specialty Care has secured $55 million in financial assistance for our patients.
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5. Nursing Care Coordination
AmeriPharma® puts your schedule and home environment first when scheduling and coordinating one of our specialized nurses for your in-home infusions.
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6. Delivery Coordination
Medications are always delivered in strict compliance with the specific requirements for shipping. Next-day and overnight cold-chain deliveries are coordinated around your schedule.
What Is Bavencio?
Bavencio is the brand name for the active ingredient avelumab, an infusion that works with the immune system to treat certain cancers. Because it is made from living cells, it is classified as a biologic drug.
The Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the use of Bavencio in May 2017 for patients who have received platinum-containing chemotherapy. If a patient’s current cancer treatment stopped working or if the cancer has progressed, doctors could consider prescribing Bavencio.
In 2020, it was approved as a maintenance treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma for those who received platinum-containing chemotherapy without further progression during treatment.
What Is Bavencio Used to Treat?
For children over 12 years old, doctors use Bavencio to treat Merkel cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, doctors may prescribe Bavencio. The drug was given accelerated approval for this indication because there are not many treatment options available. However, it has not been studied in children under 12 years old.
Along with skin cancer, doctors use Bavencio to treat cancers of the urinary tract or bladder that cannot be treated with surgery. Bavencio may also be considered for patients who tried and failed platinum-containing chemotherapy.
It is also used to treat advanced kidney cancer if surgery is not an option or if the cancer is metastatic and has spread. In these cases, Bavencio may be used in combination with another drug called axitinib.
Bavencio is the first and only immunotherapy used for first-line maintenance treatment in patients who have metastatic or locally advanced urothelial carcinoma.
Copay and Financial Assistance
AmeriPharma™ Specialty Pharmacy alleviates financial burdens for patients and their families
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Advanced software locates funding sources to match you with top-dollar foundation programs
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One of our copay assistance specialists will assist with the application process
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Automatic updates will be sent to you and your physician on the status of the funding
Bavencio Dosing Information
Bavencio is given through the vein every 2 weeks, gradually over an hour, for adults and children over the age of 12.
The infusion will be given in a healthcare setting such as the hospital or doctor’s office for appropriate monitoring. For treatment of renal cell carcinoma, it is combined with 5 mg of axitinib, taken orally twice a day.
Bavencio is safe and effective for long-term use, and many patients can continue to use it until their condition worsens or treatment stops.
Bavencio Side Effects
Common side effects of Bavencio include the following:
- Trouble speaking
- Shortness of breath or cough
- Hoarse voice
- White patches or sores around the mouth
- Chills, fever, or fatigue
- Swelling in extremities
- Bone pain, back pain, or muscle pain
- Severe rashes, bleeding, blisters, or pain in the feet or hands
- Diarrhea, nausea, infusion-related reaction, decreased appetite
Side effects in people with renal cell carcinoma (treated with axitinib):
- Diarrhea
- Hypertension
- Nausea
- Hypothyroidism
- Hepatotoxicity
- Headache
Some patients may experience side effects of an underactive thyroid while taking Bavencio. The symptoms of an underactive thyroid or hormonal disorder include sensitivity to cold temperatures, face puffiness, thinning hair, weight gain, depressed mood, decreased sweating, and tiredness.
Use of Bavencio can affect the immune system and may negatively affect other healthy tissues and organs in the body. If this happens, there may be serious damage to the adrenal glands, thyroid, intestines, kidneys, pancreas, liver, or lungs. Caregivers or patients should call emergency personnel if they notice any of the following symptoms:
- Flutter in the chest or pounding heartbeats
- Confusion or changes in mood or behavior
- Numbness or tingling of the legs and arms
- Severe diarrhea or stomach pain, tarry or bloody stool
- Vision changes
- Severe muscle pain or weakness
- Bruising
Liver problems may show up in the form of upper stomach pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, or jaundice. Heart problems manifest through pain that spreads to the shoulder or jaw, chest pressure or pain, or cold sweats.
Insurances Accepted
We accept Medicare, multi-state Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Blue Shield, and most private insurances. Call us to find out more about your coverage.
Get Started in Minutes
Fill out your information and one of our specialists will call you ASAP.
How Much Can You Save?
Speak with a copay assistance specialist
(877) 778-0318
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