Cortenema vs. its authorized generic and generics

How to pay the least

Ask for the cash price

Generic hydrocortisone

No pharmacy we check posts a price for it.

Ask your pharmacy for the cash price of generic hydrocortisone.Find pharmacies near you
Ask one or two other pharmacies too. Cash prices for the same generic can differ a lot from store to store.

A regular generic has the same active ingredient as Cortenema, and the FDA requires it to work the same way.

Compare every option

Brand nameCortenema

Authorized generichydrocortisone

Regular generichydrocortisone

What you’d pay

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually the highest price

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyOften less than Cortenema

Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually the lowest

Same as Cortenema?

The original

Same medicine

Same active ingredientFillers and dyes can differ

Brand nameNo maker’s card

We didn’t find a savings card or cash price from Cortenema’s maker. Ask the pharmacy for Cortenema’s cash price. With insurance, ask what your plan charges.

Authorized genericThe NDC to ask for

The same medicine as Cortenema, without the brand name. Give the pharmacy its NDC to get it.

hydrocortisone

Sold by

ANI PharmaceuticalsThe company behind Cortenema

NDC to ask for

100 mg/60 mLenema
- 62559-138-0711-digit: 62559-0138-077 bottles, 60 mL each

Source: FDA, updated October 30, 2026

What to say at the pharmacy

“Before you fill my Cortenema, can you tell me what I’d pay for the brand, for the authorized generic from ANI Pharmaceuticals (NDC 62559-138-07), and for a regular generic?”

Paying cash? Ask for each one’s cash price. With insurance, ask what your plan charges for each.

Brand and authorized generic labels

Official labels and ingredient lists from DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine).

Same active and inactive ingredients as Cortenema.

Cortenema package label — BrandCortenema

Authorized generic package label from ANI Pharmaceuticals — Authorized genericANI Pharmaceuticals

See the ingredients

Active: hydrocortisone 100 mg/60 mL

Inactive, on both labels:

Carbomer homopolymer type B
Methylparaben
Polysorbate 80
Sodium hydroxide
Water

Regular genericWho makes it

2 companies sell a generic of Cortenema that the FDA rates a substitute. A pharmacy fills whichever one it stocks. To get a certain maker, ask for it by name; most pharmacies can order it in a day or two.

Avet Pharmaceuticals100 mg/60 mL

Made by Chartwell Life Molecules

Product page on avetpharma.com

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

100 mg/60 mL

Package NDC
Carton of 60 mL 23155-926-51
Carton of 420 mL 23155-926-81

Inactive ingredients: carbomer homopolymer type b (allyl sucrose crosslinked), polysorbate 80, water, sodium hydroxide, methylparaben
FDA label
Chartwell RX100 mg/60 mL

Sold as Hydrocortisone Rectal Suspension (Retention)

How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

100 mg/60 mL

Package NDC
Carton of 60 mL 62135-020-46
Carton of 420 mL 62135-020-07
Box of 1260 mL 62135-020-21

Inactive ingredients: carbomer homopolymer type b (allyl sucrose crosslinked), polysorbate 80, water, sodium hydroxide, methylparaben
FDA label

Package	NDC
Carton of 60 mL	23155-926-51
Carton of 420 mL	23155-926-81

Package	NDC
Carton of 60 mL	62135-020-46
Carton of 420 mL	62135-020-07
Box of 1260 mL	62135-020-21

Who sells it: FDA and Medicaid records, updated weekly. Each maker’s page, card and program is from its own site.

What it’s used for

Ulcerative colitis

What the FDA label says

CORTENEMA® is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of ulcerative colitis, especially distal forms, including ulcerative proctitis, ulcerative proctosigmoiditis, and left-sided ulcerative colitis. It has proved useful also in some cases involving the transverse and ascending colons.

Source: the FDA label for Cortenema (ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), March 2, 2026. Full label on DailyMed

Good to know

It may look different from Cortenema (color, shape, or markings). That’s normal for an authorized generic.
If your prescription says “dispense as written,” the pharmacy needs your prescriber’s OK to give you the authorized generic.
Cash prices can differ a lot from one pharmacy to the next, so it can pay to ask two. With insurance, what you pay depends on your plan.
If your pharmacy doesn’t stock it, they can often order it within a day or two.
Don’t stop or change a medicine without talking to your pharmacist or prescriber.

Prices change: confirm with the pharmacy before you fill. drugalt.com/drug/cortenema/