by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Apr 5, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Politics
Americans interested in generic drug prices and pharmaceutical patent law have been closely following the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments in a case over “pay-for-delay” – the practice of brand-name drug-makers seeking greater profits by paying off generic manufacturers to delay introduction of low-cost generic drugs. If “pay-for-delay” tactics are declared unconstitutional, then generics would reach pharmacy shelves faster, translating to lower prices for consumers, health insurers, and taxpayers.
The Court’s decision isn’t expected until June, but last Monday the Supreme Court of another country rendered another decision related to generics that may affect American prices. India’s Supreme Court ruled against the drug company Novartis’ patent claim on Gleevec, a cancer medication. Since India’s decision allows drug companies to continue manufacturing generic versions of Gleevec, called imatinib mesylate, prices will remain exceedingly low in India and low-income countries that import Indian pharmaceuticals.
So how much cheaper is generic Gleevec in Indian pharmacies than brand name Gleevec in American pharmacies? The New York Times reported that a one-year supply of brand name Gleevec in the U.S. is a staggering $70,000. The generic in India is only $2,500!
Additionally, even though Gleevec is under patent in other high-income countries like it is in the U.S., it is far less expensive internationally. At a local New York City pharmacy the price for 30 pills of Gleevec (400mg) is $6,980. The same brand name Gleevec (400 mg) from a Canadian pharmacy is just under $3,700. The same drug (but marketed by Novartis as Glivic), can be ordered online from Turkey for $2,979. That’s a potential savings of $4,000 a month! If you choose to buy Gleevec or any medication online, to protect your health, stick to verified online pharmacies, such as those approved by PharmacyChecker.com.
In the wake of the Indian Supreme Court’s decision, it would not be surprising if Novartis reacts by raising Gleevec prices here in America to bolster profits. Governments of other high-income countries probably won’t allow Novartis to raise prices on Gleevec, due to price controls. This is patently unfair to Americans, who should not have to pay so much more for the same medication than citizens of other high-income countries.
Tagged with: Gleevec, pay for delay, Supreme Court
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Mar 14, 2013 | Drug Importation, Politics, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
The personal drug importation saga continues in the State of Maine this this week as legislators consider a bill that would allow state residents to order prescription medication from foreign pharmacies. The bill follows in the wake of – and as a response to – Maine Attorney General William Schneider’s suspension of drug importation programs last September. Pressured by local pharmacies, Schneider argued that licensed foreign pharmacies could not sell to Maine residents because they were not licensed by Maine.
As the bill’s name makes clear, An Act to Ensure Consumer Choice in the Purchase of Prescription Drugs (LD 449) aims to preserve consumer choice and facilitate personal drug importation in order to bring down drug costs. This bill calls for legal personal importation from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, and any country in the European Union or European Economic Area.
According to a December poll conducted by the Press Herald, 92% of respondents felt that state residents should be allowed to purchase prescription drugs from Canada. LD 449 has support from Governor Paul LePage and the Maine State Employees Association. The City of Portland claims it saved $3.2 million through the importation program suspended by Attorney General Schneider.
The bill also has support from private employers. Scott Wellman, CFO of Hardwood Products Company, cited savings of $638,000 over the six years that the company’s employees imported medicine through CanaRx, a Canadian international mail-order pharmacy service.
The importation bill is noteworthy for declaring the existing legal impediments to importation an “emergency,” requiring that the legislation’s provisions take immediate effect. Maine’s legislators are taking a very progressive stance on personal drug importation, one that we’ll certainly continue to closely follow.
Tagged with: Maine
by Tod Cooperman, MD, President, PharmacyChecker.com, and Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com | Mar 7, 2013 | Drug Importation, Healthcare Reform, Online Pharmacies, Pharmaceutical Industry
Dr. Roger Bate, an economist who publishes extensively about drug quality, safety, and intellectual property, finds himself a bit out in the cold right now and we think that’s wrong. It’s all because of his latest work on Internet pharmacies and personal drug importation.
He was once a favorite of the pharmaceutical industry. In a 2004 National Review article called “What Patent Problem?” Dr. Bate enraged the progressive, health activist community for arguing that patents are not obstacles to needed medication in poor countries because 95% of World Health Organization Essential Medicines are already off patent. Arguments like those were welcomed by industry, but things have changed. His recent research showing that personal drug importation (which undermines pharmaceutical profits) through online pharmacies can be safe has made him persona non grata in some pharma circles, despite his other positions which support pharma. Unfortunately, it seems the health activist community is also hesitant to embrace Dr. Bate’s current work on personal drug importation, perhaps because they don’t want to lend credence to his past research.
We think it’s time that everyone, including the FDA, listens carefully to what Dr. Bate is saying about personal drug importation. After extensive mystery shopping and testing of products, Dr. Bate came to a very simple conclusion: As long as people purchased medication from websites (foreign or domestic) approved by PharmacyChecker.com or the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, they were generally safe doing so. His data also showed that Americans could save a lot of money (an average of 52%) on brand name medicines from legitimate pharmacies outside the U.S. He believes this option, to be fair, should exist mainly for lower income individuals rather than people able to afford U.S. prices.
Dr. Bate’s conclusions about online pharmacy are an inconvenient truth for the pharmaceutical industry and U.S. pharmacies – which include some of the funders of his employer, the American Enterprise Institute. These industries lobby the government to prevent Americans from accessing drugs online at lower cost from foreign pharmacies. Their strategy has been to ignore Dr. Bate’s findings on Internet pharmacies. The FDA seems to be playing the same game by scaring the public away from personal drug importation through public information campaigns, such as Be Safe Rx.
We know that Dr. Bate’s work on online pharmacies is guided by hard data, objective analysis, and his free market sensibilities. We do not agree with his positions on all subjects, but his studies on drug safety demand respect from all sides and could help policy-makers reach the right conclusions for the public good.
Tagged with: Counterfeit Medication, Online Pharmacies, Pharma, Roger Bate
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Feb 13, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Safety, Online Pharmacies
A report on drug safety published today by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identifies important threats to the public health from falsified and substandard drugs but seems to ignore the facts about online pharmacy safety and savings. IOM’s report, “Countering the Problems of Falsified and Substandard Drugs,” which is funded by the FDA, wrongly concludes: “Trustworthy, accredited online drug stores do not sell medicine more cheaply than any other registered pharmacy would. Steep online discounts attract customers, but come from illegitimate vendors.” This conclusion is contradicted by a study in the References section of IOM’s report. That study is called “Unveiling the Mystery of Online Pharmacies: An Audit Study” and it’s published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The NBER study is clear that Americans achieve safety and huge savings when buying genuine medication ordered online from registered non-U.S. pharmacies approved by PharmacyChecker.com. Therefore, trustworthy online pharmacies, in fact, do offer much lower drug prices; they are, however, not based in the United States.
As we see it, the IOM’s report reflects the position of its funding source, the FDA, when it comes to online pharmacies. We believe that the FDA essentially allows but prefers to ignore safe personal drug importation in its consumer awareness campaigns. Tens of millions of Americans forgo taking medication each year due to high domestic prescription costs, according to the Commonwealth Fund. It’s common sense that discouraging consumers from buying more affordable and safe medication online just because the pharmacy is outside the country will lead to fewer Americans getting the medications they need. That’s because, as a CVS/Caremark study shows, high medication costs are the number one reason Americans skip their meds.
Like the FDA, the IOM report recommends that Americans only use online pharmacies approved by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) program. The main safety criteria for a VIPPS-approved online pharmacy are that its dispensing pharmacies are licensed, inspected by their governing regulatory authorities, and require prescriptions. PharmacyChecker.com-approved online pharmacies meet those standards, which are verified for U.S. or qualified foreign pharmacies. VIPPS-approved online pharmacies cannot help Americans afford needed prescribed medication on many brand name drugs because their prices are much higher than licensed non-U.S. pharmacies. Furthermore, the NABP’s Internet pharmacy programs receive funding from pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, who don’t want Americans buying their medication at lower foreign prices, which could make one question NABP’s independence…
Tagged with: Drug Safety Report, Institute of Medicine, NBER
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Dec 31, 2012 | Advocacy, Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Medication non-adherence, Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation, Pharmaceutical Industry, Skipping medications
The Deadly Problem of High Drug Costs and How Personal Drug Importation Helps
High prescription drug prices continue to be a public health crisis in America and the problem appears to have worsened throughout 2012. The added healthcare costs to the economy caused by Americans not taking their medication have increased from $290 billion to $313 billion. According to a study by the New England Healthcare Institute, over one million Americans die each year because they do not correctly take needed medications or do not take them at all. Though not all of those deaths are due to cost, it’s fair to estimate that hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying each year because drug costs are the number one reason for people not taking prescribed medications. It follows that all avenues of access to safe and affordable medication save lives, including access to safe online pharmacies with the lowest drug prices, international or domestic, which are a real lifeline for American consumers. Therefore, the federal statute banning personal drug importation under most circumstances doesn’t change the fact that current access to safe personal drug importation is good for the public health.
Savings Online Internationally Have Increased; U.S. Has Best Deals on Generics
Online pharmacy savings increased in 2012 due to lower international pharmacy prices coupled with extreme drug price increases – 13 % — in the United States. The potential savings on popular brand name drugs increased to 85% in November 2012 from 80% in March 2011, according to PharmacyChecker.com research. Online pharmacy savings are greatest on brand name medications, which when purchased internationally often help Americans save thousands of dollars each year. Some American lives are saved by online access to international pharmacies. In stark contrast to pricing on brand name drugs, U.S. generic drug prices remained globally competitive and offered Americans their best bet on many popular medications available generically at U.S. pharmacies, such as Walmart’s $4 discount programs, and usage of prescription drug discount cards. And because many popular drugs, such as Lipitor and Plavix, are now sold generically in the U.S., we can expect a shift from international to domestic pharmacies in 2013.
Rogue Online Pharmacies vs. High Drug Prices: Which is More Dangerous?
Rogue online pharmacies are a serious public health threat and need to be put out of business, but the draconian public health consequences of Americans going without needed medication due to cost is a much bigger problem. While one death is too many, very few Americans have died from rogue online pharmacies, domestic or foreign. In dire contrast, as mentioned above, it’s estimated that over one million Americans die each year from not taking needed medication with U.S. drug costs identified as the main culprit behind Americans going without prescribed medication. It’s worth noting that the research showing this sobering data was funded in part by pharmaceutical companies, including PhRMA and Pfizer (Read the research by the New England Health Institute. Follow this hyperlink to the full report; the sponsors are made clear).
The Media Storm of Misinformation on Online Pharmacies
It’s not a freakish editorial accident that the media appears far more interested in reporting about the evils of online pharmacies, especially foreign ones, and their dangers, than the national disgrace of high drug prices causing bankruptcy, sickness, hospitalization and death. The amazing profits of the global pharmaceutical industry are overwhelmingly dependent on charging U.S. consumers the world’s highest prescription drug prices. Preventing Americans from access to lower international drug prices is obviously one of their major goals. The power of the pharmaceutical and the U.S. pharmacy industries, exercised through billions of dollars spent on advertising, lobbying, and media relations, has led to the mainstream media propagating a false narrative about an online marketplace in which it’s not safe to buy lower priced medication from non-U.S. online pharmacies under any circumstances. We’ve written about most of the groups responsible for perpetuating the false narrative:
Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies
Center For Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP)
LegitScript.com
National Association of Board of Pharmacy
Partnership For Safe Medicines
With the exception of CSIP, each of the groups above receives funding or revenue from the pharmaceutical industry, U.S. pharmacy industry, and/or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They all conflate the evils of dangerous rogue online pharmacies with the safe practice of personal drug importation from safe online pharmacies, mostly based in Canada. While FDA’s policies continue to allow Americans to personally import prescription medication, the FDA now engages fully in promoting the industry-sponsored media script. CSIP is largely the brain child of the White House Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, an office dedicated to protecting intellectual property rights and strenuously lobbied and influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.
The Truth About Online Pharmacies
There are many international online pharmacies, mostly based in Canada, that have operated safely and ethically for over a decade. Independent research demonstrates that there are clearly safe online pharmacies, international and domestic, including those approved by PharmacyChecker.com. Safe international online pharmacies meet the same or similar standards as U.S. mail-order pharmacies. Their main difference is that they sell medication at a much lower price than U.S. pharmacies. They are not rogue online pharmacies. It’s that simple.
The dangers of rogue online pharmacies are very serious. Such rogues purport to be real and safe pharmacies when often they are not selling from licensed sources, requiring prescriptions or following other basic pharmacy safety protocols. Some online pharmacies are even operated by organized crime groups. And some sell deadly products.
Online Pharmacies in 2013
In 2012, law enforcement successfully shutdown more dangerous rogue sites. We should all applaud and encourage further efforts to crackdown on rogue online pharmacies. But we should also expose misinformation being spread by the pharmaceutical industry about safe international online pharmacies. Their misinformation directly leads to Americans going without medication because people are scared away from online pharmacies that sell the medications they need at a price they can afford.
To help protect the ability of Americans to safely import affordable prescription medication, we encourage you to become part of the RxRights.org movement. Join RxRights.org and contact your elected officials now to let them know Americans need access to safe medication that is affordable, including through personal drug importation.
American consumers should be able and encouraged to purchase safe medication at the lowest possible prices, whether domestically or internationally. Federal and state laws that decrease access to safe and affordable medication are neither ethical nor conducive to protecting the public health. Comparing drug prices among licensed and safe pharmacies and making this information available online for consumers helps maximize access while greatly minimizing risks: PharmacyChecker.com will proudly as ever continue to do so in 2013.
Happy Holidays and New Year!
Gabriel Levitt
Vice President
PharmacyChecker.com
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Nov 30, 2012 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
A new report from Express Scripts, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, shows that between September 2011 and September 2012, U.S. brand name prescription drug prices increased 13.3% — over six times the rate of inflation, which was only 2%.
What does this mean for American consumers? The answer is not simply that Americans will pay more for their medicine, increasing the profits of drug companies. It’s even more depressing than that. Tens of millions of Americans either do not fill or take prescribed medications due to cost, and an estimated 25 million Americans report becoming sicker because of it. With higher drug prices, we expect incidences of illness and hospitalizations to rise, with costs passed on to the American taxpayer. We lose as both patients and taxpayers, and the costs are staggering: a New England Health Institute report estimates prescription non-adherence costs to be almost $300 billion.
Americans who cannot afford these rising prices can access safe international online pharmacies to avoid going without needed medication. In contrast to rising drug prices in America, brand prices at these international pharmacies have actually decreased. Our latest drug price analysis shows that the savings available through these online pharmacies – on brand name drugs – have increased from March 2011. Today, online savings are 85%; in March of last year, they were 80%. More Americans taking needed medication will mean less sickness and hospitalizations that end up increasing healthcare costs funded by us, the taxpayers.
If you choose to order from an international online pharmacy, make sure it is safe. Pharmacies approved by PharmacyChecker.com are licensed, have licensed pharmacists, and require prescriptions. Look for the PharmacyChecker.com seal of approval, seen below, and make sure it links to a profile hosted by PharmacyChecker.com.
[Click seal for sample profile hosted on PharmacyChecker.com].
Tagged with: affordable prescriptions, Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies
