Bacteriostatic Water for Injection: Where to Buy It, Ranked

Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP is water for injection with 0.9% (9 mg/mL) benzyl alcohol added as a preservative, sold in a 30 mL multiple-dose vial. That single sentence is on the Hospira label, and so is the fact most retail pages we opened leave out: the label is marked "Rx only." (Mountainside Medical's case listing and bacteriostaticwaterstore.com are the exceptions.)

That one line changes the honest answer to "where do I buy it." The same vial is dispensed by pharmacies on prescription, sold by medical distributors only to state-licensed buyers, listed by lab-supply retailers with no stated requirement, and sold by research-supply vendors under research-use-only terms. This guide ranks the options we could verify, by criteria published on this page, and explains what each channel asks for. It does not give reconstitution or dosing instructions, and it will not: what a laboratory does with a vial is a matter for its own protocols, not ours.

Rankings on Peptifact follow the published criteria and are never sold; how brands appear on this site is set out on our disclosure page.

The best bacteriostatic water options, ranked

Criteria published below · reviewed 2026-09-05 · prices and stock observed the same day, US dollars, before shipping and tax.

Not ranked, and why:

• Hospira 30 mL, 25-vial case, marked (Rx), $539.00 at Mountainside Medical = $21.56 per vial, $0.72/mL. The cheapest verified per-mL price for the labeled product, but a case quantity marked Rx on a page dated 2025-09-30; the price was still shown when we re-opened it on 2026-09-05.
• "Generic" 30 mL at $19.95 ($0.67/mL), from a seller-published August 2026 price table at bacteriostaticwaterstore.com, which also lists Hospira at $24.95 ($0.83/mL). No labeler or NDC is named, so criterion 2 cannot be applied.
• Fujian Genohope Biotech, NDC 84502-115: in the NDC directory under "unapproved drug other" (label updated June 23, 2026); no retail listing found. Details below.
• Amazon: no listing titled Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP in the top 16 results of our 2026-09-05 capture. Details below.
• Pharmacies and 503B outsourcing facilities: dispense on prescription; the pharmacy price Google displays for GoodRx ($11.85, vial size not shown in the snippet) is below every retail figure here, but we could not open the source page.

How we ranked

Six criteria, applied in order, weighted so that a product cannot climb on price what it loses on verification:

1. Label. Labeled "Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP" with 0.9% benzyl alcohol. Vendor statements count only if the label can be seen or the labeler identified.
2. FDA listing. The manufacturer is FDA-registered and/or the product appears in the FDA NDC directory or on DailyMed, checked by querying openFDA for the product NDC and searching DailyMed. A claim with no NDC, manufacturer name or registration number scores "not checkable" and ranks below anything that can be checked.
3. Fill volume and closure. The 30 mL multiple-dose vial is the reference format.
4. Price per mL, dated, single-vial, before shipping.
5. Purchase channel and legal status, as stated by the seller.
6. Availability and shipping on the observation date.

Hospira at lab-supply retail leads because it passes criteria 1 and 2 on the label and in the directory, ties for the lowest single-vial price per mL in the table, and is sold as a single vial; criterion 5 records that its page states no purchase condition, which is a description of the listing, not a statement that a sale to any particular buyer is lawful — the label is Rx only and the buyer's own status decides that. Criterion 6 counts against it on the observation date: the single vial was backordered on 2026-09-05. The rank holds because the criteria are applied in order and the rows below it fall on earlier ones. The licensed-distributor channel sells the identical vial, in stock, but at $0.93/mL for a single vial against $0.83 and closed to buyers without a state license (criteria 4 and 5), so it ranks second. Medibact ties on stated composition and fill volume, but criterion 2 cannot be applied to it, and its standard vial is the most expensive per mL in the table; only its $25.00 "TM" vial matches Hospira at retail. A rank changes when the evidence changes: if Medibact publishes its manufacturer, an NDC or a registration number, criterion 2 can be re-run, and a backorder that persists at the next review is re-scored under criterion 6. The six criteria above are the complete method for this table. The vendor-review protocol on our methodology page (test orders, COA cross-checks) is for peptide vendors and was not used here; a diluent is ranked on documents, not on test orders.

What bacteriostatic water is

The Hospira label describes the product as "a sterile, nonpyrogenic preparation of water for injection containing 0.9% (9 mg/mL) or 1.1% (11 mg/mL) of benzyl alcohol added as a bacteriostatic preservative," supplied "in a multiple-dose container." The pH is 5.7 (4.5 to 7.0); benzyl alcohol is the only preservative listed. Two formats exist: the 30 mL semi-rigid polyolefin fliptop vial at 9 mg/mL (NDC 0409-3977-01 as a single vial, 0409-3977-03 as a tray of 25), and a 20 mL fill in a 30 mL glass fliptop vial at 11 mg/mL (NDC 0409-1093-04 and -14). Storage is 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F). The label was last revised 08/2019.

Two warnings on the label matter when reading a listing. The packaging carries "NOT FOR USE IN NEONATES," and the warnings section says benzyl alcohol "has been associated with toxicity in neonates." The origin is a CDC MMWR report of sixteen neonatal deaths "thought to be caused by the benzyl alcohol preservative used in some intravascular solutions," after which FDA recommended that flush solutions and diluents containing benzyl alcohol not be used for newborns; the report's references call the condition gasping syndrome. The second warning, that intravenous use without a solute may result in hemolysis, also appears on sterile water for injection, and both products are labeled "for drug diluent use only."

The 28-day figure vendor pages repeat is not on the Hospira label. It comes from CDC injection-safety guidance for multi-dose vials in clinical settings: "Once a multi-dose vial is opened (e.g., needle-punctured) the vial should be dated and discarded within 28 days unless the manufacturer states another date for that opened vial." We searched the Hospira label for a different date and found none.

If a pharmacist or clinician has dispensed a product to be prepared with bacteriostatic water, their instructions govern; nothing on this page replaces them.

Bacteriostatic water vs sterile water for injection

The difference is the preservative and the packaging it allows.

The sterile-water quotations are from the BD Sterile Water for Injection label on DailyMed. Both labels carry the hemolysis warning for intravenous use without a solute and both are marked "Rx only"; only the bacteriostatic product carries "NOT FOR USE IN NEONATES," because only it contains benzyl alcohol. A product sold as "deionized," "distilled," "alcohol-free" or "sterile water" is not bacteriostatic water.

Where to buy bacteriostatic water: what each channel asks for

We describe what each seller states. Whether a given sale is lawful is a legal question we do not decide, and nothing below is advice on how to obtain a prescription drug.

Pharmacies

A pharmacy dispenses the Hospira vial on a prescription. Empower Pharmacy puts it plainly: "In the United States, bacteriostatic water for injection is classified as a prescription-only product," and lists its own 30 mL vial as available through its 503B outsourcing facility. Google's results for this query display a GoodRx pharmacy price of $11.85 (vial size not shown in the snippet) that sits below every retail figure in our table; GoodRx blocked our fetch, so we could not verify the figure on the source page. The lowest price in the search results is a pharmacy price, and a pharmacy will ask for a prescription.

Medical and surgical distributors

Distributors that sell to clinics repackage the Hospira vial under their own NDC and gate the sale. Young Surgical's listing for NDC 71872-7129-01 (a Medical Purchasing Solutions repackaging of 0409-3977, per DailyMed) says "Schedule Classification: Legend," "This product requires valid state licensing to purchase," and "Products are only offered to licensed medical professionals. We do not offer medical products to the general public." No price is displayed to a visitor; the page's structured data on 2026-09-05 carried $27.99 for the single vial ($0.93/mL) and $599.00 for the box of 25 ($0.80/mL), marked in stock. We could not confirm what a licensed account sees.

Lab-supply retailers

This channel ranks first; its product page says nothing about who may buy, while the label it sells is marked "Rx only." Farris Laboratories lists the Hospira vial at $24.88 in 1, 5, 10 and 25 packs, listed expiration 2/29/28, shipped "WITHOUT temperature control packaging" because the manufacturer specifies room-temperature storage; the product page makes no statement about prescription or license requirements, and the product was backordered when we opened the page on 2026-09-05. Bacteriostaticwater.com, a Fort Worth, TX reseller of Hospira product that ships "within the United States only" under a "(Research Use Only)" disclaimer, showed no products in its bacteriostatic-water collection when we opened it on 2026-09-05, so it has no price in our table.

Research-supply vendors

Medibact sells a 30 mL vial it describes as "Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP," "USP-grade, produced in an FDA-registered U.S. facility," and "supplied for research use only," at $30.99, plus a second listing called "TM Bacteriostatic Water for Peptides (30 mL)" at $25.00. Its FAQ says the water is sourced from established U.S. manufacturers without naming one. We looked for a manufacturer name, an NDC or a facility registration number on the home page, both product pages and the FAQ and found none; that is why criterion 2 records "not checkable" and why the USP and FDA-registered-facility statements are reported as vendor claims. Shipping is free on US orders above $200. Returns are not accepted; missing, incorrect, damaged or verified defective items are replaced on documentation, photographic for damage. Its shipping-and-returns page says such items must be reported within 7 days of delivery; its FAQ says 2 (both opened 2026-09-05).

Amazon

Because Amazon's search page is among the top organic results for this query (second, behind bacteriostaticwater.com, in our 2026-09-05 capture), we captured Amazon's US search results on 2026-09-05 for "bacteriostatic water 30ml" and "bacteriostatic water for injection." In neither capture did a listing titled Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP appear in the top 16 organic results. The top results were deionized water in 10 mL and 30 mL glass vials marked "alcohol-free," followed by empty "Sterile Clear Vials," "Sterile Water for Laboratory & Research Use 20ML," a humidifier "Bacteriostatic Water Treatment," and peptide storage cases (Amazon search, captured 2026-09-05). "Alcohol-free" deionized water contains no benzyl alcohol and is not bacteriostatic water. A listing for the USP article carries "for Injection, USP" and a labeler name in its title; none of the top 16 did.

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart

The one ranking page that addresses this, bacteriostaticwaterstore.com, writes that CVS "does not carry bacteriostatic water as a standard front-of-store shelf item" and says much the same of Walgreens and Walmart; bacteriostaticwater.com's blog post "Where can I buy bacteriostatic water?" tells readers to walk up to or call a pharmacy and ask, without naming a chain. Neither cites a source, and no page from any of the three chains confirms either; we treat in-store availability as unverified.

How to read a bacteriostatic-water label

On the vial or the listing photograph, the USP article reads "Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP," "0.9% benzyl alcohol" or "9 mg/mL" (1.1%, 11 mg/mL, for the 20 mL glass fill), "multiple-dose," and a labeler name and city: Hospira, Lake Forest, IL for the originator, or a repackager's own name with "source NDC 0409-3977" on its DailyMed label. "Sterile water," "deionized water" and "bac water" are not that article. Beyond those, four things to check:

1. "Rx only." Its absence on a product presented as the USP article is a flag, because 21 CFR 201.100(b)(1) requires that statement on the label of a prescription drug.
2. The NDC, in the 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 format, and whether it matches the labeler.
3. Lot number and expiration date.
4. The sentence "This drug has not been found by FDA to be safe and effective, and this labeling has not been approved by FDA." It appears on unapproved listings, and its presence tells you which category the product is in.

How to check an NDC yourself

• openFDA. Put the product NDC (the first two segments, without the package suffix) into this URL pattern: https://api.fda.gov/drug/ndc.json?search=product_ndc:"0409-3977". For Hospira the JSON shows labeler_name Hospira, Inc., marketing_category NDA, application_number NDA018802, product_type HUMAN PRESCRIPTION DRUG, marketing_start_date 2005-04-30 and listing_expiration_date 2027-12-31. The packaging line, "25 VIAL, MULTI-DOSE in 1 TRAY (0409-3977-03) / 30 mL in 1 VIAL, MULTI-DOSE (0409-3977-01)," is how the single vial and the tray sit in one record (openFDA record).
• openFDA by name. search=generic_name:"bacteriostatic water" returned exactly four products on 2026-09-05: Hospira 0409-3977, HealthFirst 51662-1473 and ProPharma 84549-977 (all NDA018802), and Fujian Genohope 84502-115 (unapproved drug other, no application number) (openFDA query).
• DailyMed. The search string matters: "bacteriostatic water for injection" returned 0 results; "BACTERIOSTATIC WATER" returned 18, of which 7 are bacteriostatic-water labels (Hospira, Fujian Genohope, five repackagers of Hospira) and 11 are drug kits that include the vial as a diluent (DailyMed search).
• What a listing proves. FDA's caveat on the openFDA NDC page: "Assignment of an NDC number does not in any way denote FDA approval of the product." An NDC tells you a labeler filed a listing; the marketing category tells you whether an approved application stands behind it.

Who actually makes it

Hospira, Inc. of Lake Forest, Illinois holds NDA018802 and is the labeler of record; the same label is published on Pfizer's medical information site, and openFDA gives a marketing start date of April 30, 2005. Five other names on DailyMed are all repackagers of the Hospira vial: HF Acquisition Co. LLC doing business as HealthFirst (51662-1473-1), ProPharma Distribution (84549-977-03), Henry Schein (0404-9970-30), Medical Purchasing Solutions (71872-7129-1) and US MedSource (61699-3977-3). That US MedSource repackager label, not Hospira's own, is the DailyMed page Google returned on its first page for "bacteriostatic water" in our 2026-09-05 capture. A repackaged label reads "source NDC 0409-3977" and reproduces the Hospira text, including "Rx only."

The one exception in the directory is new. Fujian Genohope Biotech Ltd. listed a bacteriostatic water, NDC 84502-115-01 (30 mL multi-dose vial) and 84502-115-02 (carton of 25), benzyl alcohol 0.009 mL per mL, under marketing status "unapproved drug other." The label was updated June 23, 2026 and carries FDA's disclaimer for that category: "This drug has not been found by FDA to be safe and effective, and this labeling has not been approved by FDA." We found no retail page naming this product, so we cannot say who sells it or whether any "generic" 30 mL listing is this product; we report the label as filed.

That is what "generic" means here: one approved application, NDA018802, stands behind every currently marketed approved vial in the US (Drugs@FDA lists two Abraxis ANDAs, 089099 and 089100, as discontinued), so a listing that says "generic" without a labeler name is not naming a second manufacturer; it is declining to name one.

Availability

FDA's drug-shortage database did not list Bacteriostatic Water for Injection when we checked on 2026-09-05, with the caveat that the database page is a search form and may not render every entry. On the retail side, Farris Laboratories showed the single vial as backordered on 2026-09-05, with a listed expiration of 2/29/28, and bacteriostaticwater.com showed an empty collection.

Sources and dates

Every source is linked where it is used, and all were opened on 2026-09-05: the Hospira, US MedSource, Fujian Genohope and BD labels on DailyMed; the openFDA NDC and Drugs@FDA records and FDA's NDC disclaimer; 21 CFR 201.100; CDC's injection-safety guidance (page dated March 26, 2024) and the MMWR benzyl-alcohol report (publication year not shown on the archived page); and the vendor pages named above. Amazon and Google results came from search-data captures, not a browser session. Two ranking pages could not be opened (GoodRx and a Rite Aid guide); nothing from them is used.

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