Denavir

Generic name: penciclovir

Used for: Cold sores

How do you pay?

How to pay the least

Ask for the cash price

Generic penciclovir

No pharmacy we check posts a price for it.

  1. Ask your pharmacy for the cash price of generic penciclovir.Find pharmacies near you 
  2. 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 Denavir, and the FDA requires it to work the same way.

Compare every option

Question
Brand nameDenavir
Authorized genericpenciclovir
Regular genericpenciclovir
What you’d pay
Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually the highest price
Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually among the lowest
Cash priceAsk the pharmacyUsually among the lowest
Same as Denavir?
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 Denavir’s maker. Ask the pharmacy for Denavir’s cash price. With insurance, ask what your plan charges.

Authorized genericThe NDC to ask for

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

penciclovir

Sold by
  • Mylan PharmaceuticalsThe company behind Denavir
NDC to ask for
  • 1%cream
    • 0378-0896-5511-digit: 00378-0896-555 g per tube

Source: FDA, updated October 30, 2026

What to say at the pharmacy

“Before you fill my Denavir, can you tell me what I’d pay for the brand, for the authorized generic from Mylan Pharmaceuticals (NDC 0378-0896-55), 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 Denavir.

BrandDenavir
Authorized genericMylan Pharmaceuticals
See the ingredients

Active: penciclovir 1%

Inactive, on both labels:

  • Cetostearyl alcohol
  • Mineral oil
  • Petrolatum
  • Polyoxyl 20 cetostearyl ether
  • Propylene glycol
  • Water

Regular genericWho makes it

3 companies sell a generic of Denavir 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.

  • Amneal Pharmaceuticals1%
    How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

    1% Off-white

    PackageNDC
    Carton of 5 g69238-1791-7

    Inactive ingredients: cetostearyl alcohol, mineral oil, polyoxyl 20 cetostearyl ether, propylene glycol, water, petrolatum

    FDA label

  • Padagis1%

    Product page on padagis.com

    How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

    1%

    PackageNDC
    Carton of 5 g45802-440-75

    Inactive ingredients: cetostearyl alcohol, mineral oil, petrolatum, polyoxyl 20 cetostearyl ether, propylene glycol, water

  • Teva Pharmaceuticals1%
    How it looks, what’s in it, NDCs

    1% White

    PackageNDC
    Carton of 5 g0093-3186-20

    Inactive ingredients: cetostearyl alcohol, mineral oil, polyoxyl 20 cetostearyl ether, propylene glycol, water, white petrolatum

    FDA label

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

What the FDA label says

DENAVIR® is a deoxynucleoside analog HSV DNA polymerase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of recurrent herpes labialis (cold sores) in adults and pediatric patients12 years of age and older.

Source: the FDA label for Denavir (Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.), November 26, 2018. Full label on DailyMed 

Good to know

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