Desloratadine vs Cetirizine — Cost, Coverage & Plan Comparison

Pick the drugs you want to compare.

Up to 4 drugsCross-class or same-class

Start with the molecules your plan spends the most on. Most useful comparisons live within the same therapeutic class — switching across classes requires deeper clinical review.

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Drug 2

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Side by side, line by line.

Federal data onlyNo PBM pricing assumed

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11 dimensions

Histamine-1 Receptor Antagonist

Desloratadine

Brand: Clarinex

First FDA approval: 2013-01-11

Histamine-1 Receptor Antagonist

Cetirizine

Brand: Cetirizine Hydrochloride

First FDA approval: 2008-07-24

Lowest NADACAcquisition cost floor across all NDCs

$0.287Per unit

$0.021Per unit

Average NADACAcross all dosage forms and strengths

$2.22Up to $8.85

$0.819Up to $7.34

Generic manufacturersActive ANDA holders — FDA Orange Book

67 total ANDAs filed

99 total ANDAs filed

Annualized Part D spendCY2024 — CMS Part D Spending Dashboard

$10.5MFull year

$5.5MFull year

Part D claims (CY24)Total fills, all strengths

238K91K beneficiaries

35K14K beneficiaries

Avg cost per claimCalculated: total spend ÷ total claims

$44Per claim, all NDCs

$156Per claim, all NDCs

Part D plans surveyed2026 plan year — CMS Formulary file

329Across CMS plan year

Prior-authorization frictionPlan-NDC pairs requiring PA

0Zero PA friction

Step therapy appliedPlan-NDC pairs requiring step therapy

13Limited friction

0None

FDA shortage statusLive cross-reference vs FDA Drug Shortage Database

NoneClear

Generic availableFDA Orange Book

Yes6 manufacturers

Yes9 manufacturers