Interferon Beta-1A vs Peginterferon Beta-1A — 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.

Drug 1

Drug 2

Drug 3 (optional)

Drug 4 (optional)

Side by side, line by line.

Federal data onlyNo PBM pricing assumed

Compare across

11 dimensions

Interferon beta

Interferon Beta-1A

Brand: AVONEX

First FDA approval: 2002-03-07

Interferon beta

Peginterferon Beta-1A

Brand: Plegridy

First FDA approval: 2014-08-15

Lowest NADACAcquisition cost floor across all NDCs

$1848.67Per unit

—Per unit

Average NADACAcross all dosage forms and strengths

$6498.44Up to $8827.29

—

Generic manufacturersActive ANDA holders — FDA Orange Book

00 total ANDAs filed

Annualized Part D spendCY2024 — CMS Part D Spending Dashboard

$468.4MFull year

$60.0MFull year

Part D claims (CY24)Total fills, all strengths

50K8K beneficiaries

6K1K beneficiaries

Avg cost per claimCalculated: total spend ÷ total claims

$9,323Per claim, all NDCs

$9,879Per claim, all NDCs

Part D plans surveyed2026 plan year — CMS Formulary file

329Across CMS plan year

Prior-authorization frictionPlan-NDC pairs requiring PA

497Substantial friction

214Substantial friction

Step therapy appliedPlan-NDC pairs requiring step therapy

24Limited friction

0None

FDA shortage statusLive cross-reference vs FDA Drug Shortage Database

NoneClear

Generic availableFDA Orange Book

NoBrand-only