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How much is Toujeo Solostar without insurance?

Most insurance plans cover insulin drugs like Toujeo Solostar
Sarah Bradley writer headshot
By | Aug. 6, 2024 Medically reviewed by Leslie Greenberg, MD
An autoinjector: How much is Toujeo Solostar without insurance?

Key takeaways

  • Toujeo Solostar is a long-acting insulin prescribed for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.

  • Without insurance, one 1.5 mL pen of Toujeo Solostar costs around $202. However, it can be hard to calculate your monthly expense for this drug since the amount of insulin each person needs is dependent on many factors.

  • If you need a high quantity of insulin per month, it may be more efficient and cost-effective to be prescribed Toujeo Max Solostar, which is the same drug at the same concentration but sold in larger quantities.

  • There are other ways to save money on Toujeo Solostar, with or without insurance.

In this article:

Toujeo Solostar is a brand-name prescription drug used to treat diabetes mellitus, including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes as well as gestational diabetes. It contains insulin glargine, a long-acting insulin available in prefilled pens for easy dosing at home. According to Brian Staiger, Pharm.D., of HelloPharmacist, it typically lasts 24 hours per dose, allowing for once-daily administration.

Without insurance, one 1.5 mL pen of brand-name Toujeo Solostar costs around $202. There are no generic alternatives to Toujeo Solostar, but there are ways to make your prescription more affordable. 

What is the generic for Toujeo Solostar?

Toujeo Solostar contains insulin, which is a biologic medication. Biologics are drugs made from living tissue, and they are complicated and expensive to produce. Though some pharmaceutical companies make biosimilars, or the generic version of a biologic drug, they cannot do this for insulin due to Food and Drug Administration rules. Instead, they sometimes introduce “authorized generic” versions of their own insulins. 

The manufacturer of Toujeo Solostar, Sanofi, sells its authorized generic version as insulin glargine U-300. Also called an “unbranded generic” drug, insulin glargine U-300 uses the same manufacturing process as Toujeo Solostar and is identical in molecular weight distribution, quality control parameters, and inactive ingredients.

Is Toujeo Solostar covered by insurance?

Toujeo Solostar is covered by most commercial insurance plans and Medicare, although it’s important to check the details of your plan benefits since all insurers have different drug formularies and different tiers of coverage. According to Sanofi, 88% of people with commercial insurance and 89% of people with Medicare receive coverage for their Toujeo Solostar prescription.

How much does Toujeo Solostar cost without insurance?

The average cost of Toujeo Solostar without insurance is around $202 per 1.5 mL pen. However, a single 1.5 mL pen may not be a 30-day supply for you, so your cost could be more than $202 per month.

“The primary factor is how much insulin you use, as that will determine how many pens you need and how long each pen lasts,” Dr. Staiger says. “If you have a higher insulin requirement, you will go through the pens more quickly and need higher quantities.” 

Other things that can affect the cost of Toujeo Solostar include the pharmacy you use to fill your prescription, but Dr. Staiger says the price will only vary slightly between different pharmacies,  so the amount of insulin you need is really the main driving factor in how expensive it will be for you on a monthly basis.  

The amount of insulin you need is highly individualized and based on a number of factors, including your prior insulin treatment, your diet, and your body weight. Your healthcare provider will help you calculate your dosage and will tell you how much insulin you need daily. 

If you’re unable to afford your Toujeo Solostar prescription, there are other options. Chhaya Makhija, MD, endocrinologist and lifestyle medicine specialist, and founder of Unified Endocrine and Diabetes Care in California says there are several long-acting insulin options across brand-name, generic, and biosimilar insulins, and providers usually make an insulin recommendation based on their patient’s insurance coverage.

Toujeo Solostar vs. Toujeo Max Solostar

“Toujeo Solostar and Toujeo Max Solostar are the same medication (insulin glargine) at the same concentration of 300 units/mL, but they have a different number of units per pen,” Dr. Staiger says. 

  • Toujeo Solostar contains 450 units of insulin glargine per pen.
  • Toujeo Max Solostar contains 900 units of insulin per pen.

“Toujeo Max Solostar is generally better suited for people with high insulin requirements, as it offers a larger reservoir of insulin, reducing the frequency of pen changes,” Dr. Staiger explains.

As far as cost, Toujeo Max Solostar is more expensive because it is a larger quantity of insulin. Instead of Toujeo Solostar’s one 1.5 mL pen, Toujeo Max Solostar is sold as two 3 mL pens and costs around $782. 
Drug name Price without insurance of brand-name drug SingleCare price Savings options
Toujeo Solostar $202 per 1, 1.5 mL of 300 units/mL pen $58 per 3, 1.5 mL of 300 units/mL pen See latest prices
Toujeo Max Solostar $781 per 2, 3 mL of 300 units/mL pen $225 per 2, 3 mL of 300 units/mL pen See latest prices
Tresiba $457 per 1, 10 mL of 100 units/mL vial $118 per 1, 10 mL of 100 units/mL vial See latest prices
Lantus Solostar $111 per 1, 3 mL of 100 units/mL pen $20 per 1, 3 mL of 100 units/mL pen  See latest prices
Basaglar KwikPen $93 per 1, 3 mL of 100 units/mL pen $52 per 1, 3 mL of 100 units/mL pen See latest prices
Prescription drug prices often change. These are the most accurate medication prices at the time of publishing. The listed price without insurance references the price of brand-name drugs (unless otherwise specified). The listed SingleCare price references the price of generic drugs if available. Click the link under “Savings options” to see the latest drug prices.

How to get Toujeo Solostar without insurance

Without insurance, paying for brand-name medications like Toujeo Solostar can be a challenge, especially when it’s hard to know how much insulin you will need per month. However, there are several ways you can save money when paying out of pocket for medications. Here are some ways to lower your Toujeo Solostar cost if you don’t have insurance.

1. Use a SingleCare prescription discount card

For people without insurance, SingleCare can help you save on prescription drug costs with its discount savings card. The card allows you to easily compare drug costs at local retail pharmacies and choose the one with the lowest available price before you fill your prescription. You can also use the discount card at your regular pharmacy and apply any available savings to all your prescriptions.

2. Enroll in the Insulins Valyou Savings Program 

If you don’t have commercial health insurance, you can pay $35 for a 30-day supply of Toujeo Solostar with Sanofi’s Insulins ValIyou Savings Program. This offer is good for 12 consecutive months, at which point you can reapply. This is one of the cheapest ways to get Toujeo Solostar without insurance.

3. Apply for the Sanofi Patient Connection program

Sanofi offers a Toujeo Slostar patient assistance program called Patient Assistance Connection for people who meet certain requirements to get the medication for free. Eligibility is based on income and your insurance coverage. People with commercial insurance aren’t eligible unless they are unable to receive the drug under their plan. People with Medicare Part D or who have been denied Medicaid coverage may or may not be eligible. 

4. Talk to your provider about switching to a different medication

As Dr. Makhija notes, providers can often tailor your prescription insulin to your insurance coverage. If your insurance doesn’t cover Toujeo Solostar, ask your healthcare provider about switching to a different insulin that’s available at a lower cost through your insurance.

How to save on Toujeo Solostar with insurance

Even with insurance, drug costs can add up. For commercially insured patients, Sanofi has a Toujeo Solostar copay card that allows them to pay $35 or less for a 30-day supply of Toujeo Solostar, depending on the details of their insurance plan. The card is valid for up to 10 packs per fill and one fill per 30-day supply. If you need more than one pack, be sure to fill them all at the same time so you can save.

If you have Medicare, you may be eligible for Medicare Extra Help, a program to help people with limited income and resources pay their Medicare drug premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and other costs. You can apply online or by calling the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778).

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