by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Feb 16, 2017 | Advocacy, Drug Importation, Drug Prices, FDA, Personal Drug Importation
Unapproved but safe and effective…
Personal drug importation works! This week, drug company Marathon announced it is postponing the launch of Emflaza, its recently FDA-approved version of an off-patent drug called deflazacort, in the face of heavy scrutiny by Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Elijah Cummings over its price tag – $89,000 a year. This drug, which treats Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), is available under the brand name Calcort in the United Kingdom at about 99% less (about $750) than the current U.S. “postponed” price. Generic versions of deflazacort are also available internationally among verified online pharmacies at an annual price tag of about $650.
For some background on the disease and treatment: DMD is a “genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.” It mostly afflicts boys, with onset ranging from ages 3-5. It’s caused by the absence of a protein called dystrophin. For more, see the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) website. According to the MDA, corticosteroids, including deflazacort, help slow the disease’s progression.
For a critique of the Emflaza price read Sanders and Cummings’ letter. No one could do better than that. Marathon CEO Jeff Aronin attempts to rationalize the price here but it almost reads like an apology. They argue that no consumer will deal with the $89,000 price tag because health insurers only charge a $20 co-pay and they have patient assistance programs to help the uninsured. It’s never that perfect, at all: people always slip through the cracks and we’re not forcing people to go without needed medication or go into bankruptcy to get it. Right?
So now a fist full of truth about this medication and safe online access to affordable medicines to shine a bright light on the lifeline that is personal drug importation… (more…)
Tagged with: deflazacort, emflaza, marathon
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Feb 1, 2017 | Advocacy, Patient Assistance Programs, pbm, Pharmaceutical Industry
Can Big Pharma Help Me Afford My Meds?
People who are not new to this blog know that we are often critical of the pharmaceutical industry because of their actions to stop Americans from buying lower cost medications from international online pharmacies. So, this may come as a surprise…
Today, we announced that we have added a new section on PharmacyChecker.com for consumers to search, find and apply to patient assistance programs, those sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. You can type in the name of your medication and review a very comprehensive collection of these programs, including low-cost, no-cost, and copay programs. The eligibility hurdles are often prohibitive: so please understand that for many programs, if you’re currently earning above the median income in the U.S. it’s likely that you are too rich. (more…)
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 27, 2017 | Advocacy, Drug Prices, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Don’t blame poor little Big Pharma
Big Pharma is in the mood to share! A new report commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the trade association representing the world’s largest global pharmaceutical companies, seems to assert that the blame for high drug prices should be shared with pharmacy benefit managers, retail pharmacies, wholesalers, and, I think, even hospitals – and more. It appears that PhRMA’s main target is the pharmaceutical benefit managers.
Noting that President Donald Trump recently said drug companies are “getting away with murder” – I view this report as pharma’s attempt to communicate, “hey, prez, we’re not alone here in being greedy.” The report has merit, which I’ll explain below when looking at the dollar numbers. But as far as the American consumer is concerned: murder is murder. Hey, I’m just using the president’s words. Due to the killing made by pharma and friends (because they’re all friends), 10s of millions of Americans are leaving their scripts unfilled because the prices, one way or the other, are out of reach.
The report is called “The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Gross Drug Expenditures Realized by Stakeholders.” You can find a summary of it here but this is my take on it. (more…)
Tagged with: phrma, supply chain
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 20, 2017 | Advocacy, Drug Prices, Drug Safety, Policy, Politics
In this blog post I’m going to get personal. Not about me but about importing medication from Canada and other countries. You’ll see what I mean. Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced an amendment to the budget bill, which would have paved the way for future deficit neutral spending to implement new regulations expanding lawful access to lower cost imported medication from wholesalers, pharmacies and individuals. Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated 52-46.
Let’s forget about the fact that drug companies give members of Congress lots of money. OK, I can’t forget: it’s about two billion dollars over the last 15 years. Some senators who voted against the amendment cited their concerns with safety as a basis for their vote. Let me explain why they are wrong, at least when it comes to personal vs. wholesale drug importation. (more…)
Tagged with: Bernie Sanders, Congress, Corey Booker
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 18, 2017 | Advocacy
PharmacyCheckerBlog was bestowed an award by Feedspot as one of the top 50 blogs covering pharma! Over the past seven years, our blog has covered a variety of areas related to prescription drug prices, safety, policy, and politics. But our blog’s focus is telling Americans the truth about savings and safety related to buying medications from online pharmacies and personal drug importation, and standing up the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to mislead the American people on these issues. (more…)
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Jan 12, 2017 | Advocacy, HIV/AIDS, Personal Drug Importation, Public Health
In case you didn’t know, PharmacyChecker is based in New York. We are a proud American company, one that has helped millions of Americans for well over a decade get the information they need to save money safely if choosing to buy lower cost, imported medication online. While my focus is often the American consumer, I’m very much concerned with medicine access needs globally, too.
The fact is that online access to affordable medication is helping consumers throughout the world. We’re going to look at one very interesting and uplifting example from the United Kingdom, where people in at-risk communities are saving themselves from contracting HIV through the safe purchase of medication over the Internet and importing it for personal use.
The title of an article in the New Scientist pinpoints the gist of what’s going on: “Massive drop in HIV rates may be due to Internet Drugs.” In late 2016, four health clinics in London saw a dramatic drop in new HIV infections of 40% among gay men over a 12-month period. That period corresponded with the launch of I Want PrEP Now (https://www.iwantprepnow.co.uk/), a non-profit initiative that helps people safely buy generic Truvada online. While it’s possible that other factors are at play, public health experts attributed the drop in new HIV infections to the ability of people to obtain generic Truvada affordably through the Internet. I cannot vouch for the online pharmacies recommended through I Want PrEP because we have not verified them in the PharmacyChecker Verification Program, but read on to see amazing evidence of the safety and efficacy of the medications ordered. (more…)
Tagged with: emtricitabine/tenofovir, PrEP, Truvada
