PharmacyChecker Blog

Helping Americans Get The Truth About Prescription Drug Savings
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For 15 weeks, we tracked prices among U.S. and foreign pharmacies on popular drugs manufactured in in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Our analysis found that these medications were an average 76% less expensive from the lowest-cost PharmacyChecker.com-approved international pharmacy than a local U.S. pharmacy in New York City. Even when medications were available as generics, such as Singluair and Urocit-K, the prices for the brand name abroad were cheaper than the generic in the U.S.

Just for the record, prescription drugs manufactured under government regulation in many other countries are just as safe as those made here. Critics of international online pharmacies (mostly people connected to drug companies or big chain pharmacy interests) often mention poor foreign manufacturing practices, especially for generic drugs, outside the U.S. to scare Americans from ordering medication internationally.  But so many FDA-approved drugs currently sold in U.S. pharmacies are imported – 40% according to the FDA – and many are generics. As our vice president Gabriel Levitt said, “We looked only at brand name medications manufactured in the U.S., not because they’re any safer than those made elsewhere, but because we found it so compelling that the same drugs made here are about 76% less expensive abroad.”

For more information, read our recent press release.

Average Savings Buying from an International Online Pharmacy for Brand Name Medications Manufactured in America*

 

Drug Local U.S. Pharmacy Price Lowest International PharmacyChecker.com Listed Price Percent Savings
Acuvail 0.45% – 30 vials+ $249 $65 74%
Cardura XL 4 mg – 90 pills $285 $67 76%
Crestor 40 mg – 90 pills+ $680 $140 79%
Cymbalta 60 mg – 90 pills+ $879 $116 87%
Invega 6 mg – 90 pills $1,932 $580 70%
Janumet 50/500 mg – 180 pills+ $1,050 $172 84%
Lotemax 0.5% – 5 ml $188 $30 84%
Lumigan 0.03% – 2.5 ml $114 $22 81%
Pataday 0.2% – 2.5 ml $161 $34 79%
Pulmicort 0.25 mg/2ml – 60 respules $698 $117 83%
Restasis 0.05% – 60 Vials $394 $116 71%
Singulair Granules 4 mg – 90 pills+ $732 $176 76%
Strattera 25 mg – 90 caps+ $828 $311 63%
Tarceva 100 mg – 30 pills $6,531 $1,949 70%
Urocit-K 10 meq – 90 pills++ $146 $57 61%
Average Savings 76%
* Includes manufacturing in Puerto Rico, Local U.S. Pharmacy Prices found at a New York City Rite-Aid
+price calculated from 84 pills.
++price calculated from 100 pills.
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