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 If Needed
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 Neupogen?
Neupogen (filgrastim) is an injectable medicine used to treat or prevent neutropenia (low neutrophil levels) in certain patients, including people receiving cancer treatments like chemotherapy. Neutropenia is a condition in which your body has a low white blood cell count, particularly neutrophils, which fight bacterial and fungal infections. Neupogen helps reduce the risk of infections by stimulating neutrophil production in cancer patients.
Neupogen (filgrastim) is manufactured by Amgen and was approved by the FDA in 1991. Currently, five biosimilars of this drug are available in the market, including Filkri, Nivestym, Nypozi, Releuko, and Zarxio.
The FDA has approved Neupogen (filgrastim) for several uses, including:
- To reduce the risk of serious infections due to a low white blood cell count in people with certain types of cancer (non-myeloid) who received chemotherapy.
- To help neutrophils recover faster after intensive chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
- To help the cancer patient’s neutrophil count recover more quickly after bone marrow or stem-cell transplantation.
- To move blood-forming stem cells from the bone marrow into the bloodstream before patients undergo stem-cell collection therapy.
- When a person has persistently or repeatedly low neutrophils, such as congenital neutropenia, cyclic neutropenia, and idiopathic neutropenia.
- To stimulate bone marrow recovery after severe radiation exposure, which has severely damaged blood-cell production.
- To increase survival in patients exposed to bone marrow-suppressing radiation.
Neupogen: Mode of Action (MOA)
When cancer patients receive high-dose chemotherapy treatment, it also damages the bone marrow cells, which results in a significant reduction in the number of white blood cells, including neutrophils, in the blood circulation.
Since the cancer patient’s bone marrow needs time to produce new infection-fighting white blood cells, these patients are at high risk of serious infection due to neutropenia (low neutrophil counts).
Neupogen (filgrastim) speeds up neutrophil production. Neupogen is a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which the body also produces naturally. G-CSF normally acts on the bone marrow and boosts the production of neutrophils.
Neupogen works like the body’s natural G-CSF, helping white blood cells mature faster into neutrophils and enter the bloodstream to fight bacteria and reduce infection risk.
Neupogen: Drug Form
Neupogen is available as a liquid solution in both single-dose vials and single-dose prefilled syringes in the following strengths:
- Single-dose vials: 300 mcg/ml and 480 mcg/1.6 ml
- Prefilled syringe: 300 mcg/0.5 ml and 480 mcg/0.8 ml
How Neupogen Copay Assistance Works
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
Recommended Dosage
Your doctor determines the dosage and duration of Neupogen based on your condition, treatment, and blood-cell counts. Recommended dosages vary depending on the condition being treated:
1. Dosage for Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
The recommended initial dosage for patients with AML or non-myeloid cancers receiving chemotherapy is 5 mcg/kg/day, which can be administered as a single daily subcutaneous injection, by short intravenous infusion (15 to 30 minutes), or by continuous intravenous infusion.
2. Dosage for Cancer Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Transplantation
The recommended dosage of Neupogen following bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is 10 mcg/kg/day, which is given as an intravenous infusion no longer than 24 hours. The first dose should be administered at least 24 hours after chemotherapy and at least 24 hours after bone marrow infusion.
3. Dosage for Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Collection Therapy
For collecting a patient’s own stem cells from the blood, Neupogen is given as a subcutaneous injection under the skin at a dosage of 10 mcg/kg/day. The first dose is given at least 4 days before the first leukapheresis procedure and continues until the last leukapheresis.
4. Dosage for Patients with Severe Chronic Neutropenia
The initial dosage of Neupogen in patients with congenital neutropenia is 6 mcg/kg, given as a subcutaneous injection twice a day. In patients with idiopathic or cyclic neutropenia, the dosage is 5 mcg/kg as a single daily subcutaneous injection.
5. Dosage for Patients Exposed to Bone Marrow-Suppressing Radiation
For patients who are exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation, a dose of 10 mcg/kg is given as a single daily subcutaneous injection. The Neupogen should be administered as soon as possible after suspected or confirmed exposure to radiation doses greater than 2 gray (Gy).
Neupogen Side Effects
Common side effects:
The most common side effects of Neupogen vary depending on the condition being treated and how the medication is used. For instance:
- Patients with non-myeloid cancers receiving chemotherapy may experience fever, pain, rash, cough, and shortness of breath.
- Patients with Acute myeloid leukemia receiving chemotherapy may have pain, nosebleeds, and rash.
- Non-myeloid cancer patients receiving chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplant may have rash.
- People having their own blood cells collected may have bone pain, fever, and headache.
- Patients with severe chronic neutropenia may have pain, decreased red blood cells, nosebleeds, diarrhea, reduced sensation, and hair loss.
Serious side effects:
- Spleen rupture
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (a serious lung problem)
- Serious allergic reactions
- Sickle cell crises in people with sickle cell disorder
- Kidney injury
- Capillary leak syndrome (CLS)
- Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Decreased platelet count (thrombocytopenia)
- Increased white blood cell count (leukocytosis)
- Inflammation of your blood vessels (cutaneous vasculitis)
- Inflammation of arteries (arteritis)
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.
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