Atovaquone-Proguanil Hcl Coupons & Prices

Use an Rx.com atovaquone-proguanil-hcl coupon to compare cash prices at more than 60,000 pharmacies before you fill your malaria prescription. Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride is the generic version of Malarone, an antimalarial tablet taken once daily with food to prevent or treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Cash prices for the same tablets can differ a great deal from one pharmacy to the next, even within the same town, so it pays to check before you travel. Enter your ZIP code above to see today's price near you.

What is atovaquone-proguanil and how does it work?

Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride is a fixed-dose combination antimalarial tablet. Atovaquone is a hydroxynaphthoquinone that blocks the malaria parasite's mitochondrial electron transport. Proguanil is a biguanide whose active metabolite, cycloguanil, blocks an enzyme the parasite needs called dihydrofolate reductase. Together the two drugs attack the parasite in two different ways. It is sold under the brand name Malarone, with a Malarone Pediatric version as well, and an FDA-approved generic is available.

The FDA has approved it for two uses: preventing P. falciparum malaria, including in areas where chloroquine resistance has been reported, and treating acute, uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. It comes as adult tablets (250 mg atovaquone / 100 mg proguanil hydrochloride) and pediatric tablets (62.5 mg / 25 mg). For prevention, it is taken once daily starting 1 to 2 days before you enter the malaria area, every day you are there, and for 7 days after you leave. For treatment, it is taken once daily for 3 days in a row. It is not indicated for, and has not been studied in, cerebral malaria or other severe or complicated malaria.

What atovaquone-proguanil costs without insurance

There is no manufacturer savings card for generic atovaquone-proguanil. The maker of Malarone, GSK, runs a patient assistance site (GSKforYou) for its own products, but eligibility and terms vary and change over time, so check directly with the manufacturer rather than assuming you qualify. For most travelers paying cash, the practical lever is simply comparing pharmacies.

Cash prices for the identical generic tablets vary widely by pharmacy and by ZIP code, and the difference is often larger than people expect. Rx.com compares prices across more than 60,000 pharmacies so you can see which one near you is cheapest today. A few things worth knowing:

• Your travel dates set your quantity. Prevention needs a tablet for every day of the trip plus 1 to 2 days before and 7 days after, so the total tablet count drives the price.
• Ask your prescriber to send the prescription to the pharmacy with the best price rather than the closest one.
• Our coupon is for cash-pay prescriptions and cannot be combined with insurance. Compare it against your copay and use whichever is lower.
• Enter your ZIP above to see today's price at pharmacies near you.

Alternatives and how they compare

Which malaria drug is right for you depends on where you are traveling, how long you will be there, the resistance patterns in that region, and your own medical history. Only your prescriber or a travel medicine clinic can make that call. Options a clinician may discuss include:

• Malarone and Malarone Pediatric are the brand versions of this exact combination.
• Doxycycline hyclate is a daily antibiotic also used for malaria prevention.
• Mefloquine HCl is a weekly option.
• Chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate are used only in the shrinking number of areas where the parasite is still chloroquine-sensitive.
• Primaquine phosphate is used to clear the liver stage of P. vivax, which atovaquone-proguanil does not do.
• Atovaquone alone is a different product with different approved uses and is not a substitute for this combination.

One important difference: atovaquone-proguanil does not eradicate the dormant liver forms (hypnozoites) of P. vivax, so relapse is common if it is used alone against that species. A radical cure with primaquine or tafenoquine is needed for that. Check current CDC destination guidance with your clinician before you book.

Safety, side effects and interactions

Atovaquone-proguanil has no boxed warning. It should not be used by anyone with a known serious hypersensitivity to atovaquone or proguanil, and prophylactic use is contraindicated in severe kidney impairment (creatinine clearance under 30 mL/min). Liver injury has been reported, including cases that required a liver transplant. Severe skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome and DRESS, can be life-threatening: stop the medicine and contact your provider immediately at the first sign of a rash. The drug can also make your skin more sensitive to sunlight, so use sun protection. The most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache and dizziness.

Vomiting or diarrhea reduces how much atovaquone your body absorbs and can cause prevention or treatment to fail. Several medicines can substantially lower atovaquone levels, including rifampin, rifabutin, tetracycline, metoclopramide, efavirenz, and boosted protease inhibitors. Proguanil may increase the effect of warfarin. Give your prescriber and pharmacist a full list of everything you take, and discuss use in pregnancy or while breastfeeding with a clinician. This page is information, not medical advice.