Ertapenem vs Meropenem — Cost, Coverage & Plan Comparison

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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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Drug 4 (optional)

Side by side, line by line.

Federal data onlyNo PBM pricing assumed

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11 dimensions

Penem Antibacterial

Ertapenem

Brand: ERTAPENEM

First FDA approval: 2001-11-21

Penem Antibacterial

Meropenem

First FDA approval: 2011-10-14

Lowest NADACAcquisition cost floor across all NDCs

$26.83Per unit

$5.84Per unit

Average NADACAcross all dosage forms and strengths

$29.02Up to $57.40

$5.84Up to $5.84

Generic manufacturersActive ANDA holders — FDA Orange Book

55 total ANDAs filed

819 total ANDAs filed

Annualized Part D spendCY2024 — CMS Part D Spending Dashboard

$108.0MFull year

$26.3MFull year

Part D claims (CY24)Total fills, all strengths

264K107K beneficiaries

144K48K beneficiaries

Avg cost per claimCalculated: total spend ÷ total claims

$410Per claim, all NDCs

$183Per claim, all NDCs

Part D plans surveyed2026 plan year — CMS Formulary file

329Across CMS plan year

Prior-authorization frictionPlan-NDC pairs requiring PA

20Minimal friction

40Minimal friction

Step therapy appliedPlan-NDC pairs requiring step therapy

0None

FDA shortage statusLive cross-reference vs FDA Drug Shortage Database

NoneClear

Generic availableFDA Orange Book

Yes5 manufacturers

Yes8 manufacturers