by Lucia Mueller, President, PharmacyChecker.com | Feb 14, 2020 | Drug Prices, Generic drugs
When you lose count of how many folks have the same suspicion about a prescription medication, action is compulsory. Joe and Teresa Graedon, founders of The People’s Pharmacy, not only have an admirable track record of telling health consumers how it is, but also listening to those in their readership. Years ago, they took on the Food and Drug Administration in regards to Budeprion XL distributed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, the supposed generic equivalent to the popular antidepressant, Wellbutrin XL. Many readers complained that it just wasn’t cutting it compared to the brand name version. In fact, many people reported that when they were switched to the Teva generic Wellbutrin XL, their depression returned.
(more…)
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 5, 2017 | Drug Safety, Generic drugs, Online Pharmacies, Online Pharmacy Verification Services
Properly Verified International Online Pharmacies Sell Genuine and Safe Medication
Last month, Roger Bate, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and head of the Safe Medicines Coalition, published the results of a study which tested and compared the quality of drugs purchased from online pharmacies in the U.S. and abroad, including pharmacies verified by third-parties and those not verified. The findings were clear: PharmacyChecker-approved international online pharmacies sell medications of comparable quality to U.S. online pharmacies verified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and LegitScript.
In fact, overall, the results were better for PharmacyChecker-verified pharmacies than for those verified by NABP and LegitScript. Results were dramatically worse for pharmacies with no third-party verification. The drug testing focused on generic versions of Lipitor (atorvastatin) and of generic Cipro (ciprofloxacin), which were ordered from the online pharmacies by the researchers. (more…)
Tagged with: Atorvastatin, CIPA, Cipro, Ciprofloxacin, LegitScript, Lipitor, NABP, Roger Bate, testing
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Feb 8, 2017 | Drug Prices, Drug Safety, Generic drugs, Narrow Therapeutic Index
Joe and Terry Graedon have been helping Americans make better health decisions for the last 40 years, including through their syndicated radio show on National Public Radio called The People’s Pharmacy. As you can imagine, their listeners are interested in prescription drug safety and savings. Our CEO was on their show this past Saturday and I’d like to tell you about it, especially if you want to learn how to save money on brand name drugs.
The CEO of PharmacyChecker.com, Tod Cooperman, MD, is also the founder and president of ConsumerLab.com, the leading evaluator of health and wellness products. ConsuemrLab.com has worked with The People’s Pharmacy in the past to test prescription medications. While I believe that generics sold in the U.S. are usually of the highest quality, equal to or better than generics in most other countries, ConsumerLab.com’s findings show that some generic medications in the U.S. are not always equal to the brand. Due to his expertise is drug quality and his knowledge about drug prices, The People’s Pharmacy brought Dr. Cooperman on to their show last week to talk about Narrow Therapeutic Index (NTI) drugs. Listen to the show! (See minutes 6:50-18:00).
For NTI medications, it’s even more important that the active pharmaceutical ingredient is present in the exact amount required. When NTI medications have too much of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, it can be toxic; but those that have too little may not be adequately efficacious. Most NTI drugs are available in generic form, which usually means they are low cost, even without insurance, and usually lower-priced than in Canada and other countries, too! The opposite holds true for brands.
Some providers are deciding that it’s important for their patients stick with the brand for NTI drugs for the reasons stated above. But the prices here are often too high. In the radio show, Dr. Cooperman recommends looking internationally for those who can’t afford the brand locally. Americans can often find discounts averaging 80% internationally on Brand name NTI drugs. Last summer, when we read The Graedon’s Guide to Saving Money on Medicines, we noticed the list of NTI drugs and wanted to compare drug prices domestically and internationally. Our research from Fall 2016 is below.
Narrow Therapeutic Index (NTI) Drugs: Brand Name Price Comparison (U.S., Canada, International*)
|
|
Per Pill Cost[i] |
Potential Savings |
| Medication Name: Brand (Generic) |
Strength |
U.S[ii] |
Canada[iii] |
NZ/UK[iv] |
Canada |
Other Int’l |
Overall |
| Tegretol (Carbamazepine) |
200mg |
$2.87 |
$0.77 |
$0.57 |
73% |
80% |
80% |
| Cleocin HCl (Clindamycin) [v] |
300mg caps |
$24.00 |
$3.38 |
NA |
86% |
NA |
86% |
| Catapres (Clonidine HCl) |
0.1mg |
$3.34 |
$0.45 |
NA |
86% |
NA |
86% |
| Sandimmune (Cyclosporine) |
100mg /mL 50mL |
$664.84 |
$327.98 |
NA |
51% |
NA |
51% |
| Lanoxin (Digoxin)[vi] |
0.125mg |
$12.54 |
$0.75 |
NA |
94% |
NA |
94% |
| Depakote (Divalproex)[vii] |
250mg |
$5.73 |
$0.90 |
NA |
84% |
NA |
84% |
| Zarontin (Ethosuximide) |
250mg |
$4.51 |
$0.66 |
NA |
85% |
NA |
85% |
| Synthroid (Levothyroxine) |
100 mcg (0.1mg) |
$1.87 |
$0.35 |
$0.63 |
81% |
66% |
81% |
| Dilantin (Phenytoin) |
100mg |
$1.45 |
$0.33 |
$0.48 |
77% |
67% |
77% |
| Depakene (Valproic acid) |
250mg |
$5.76 |
$0.93 |
NA |
84% |
NA |
84% |
| Coumadin (Warfarin) |
5mg |
$3.69 |
$0.60 |
NA |
84% |
NA |
84% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Average Savings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
81% |
[i] Based on three month supply of medication.
[ii] Walgreens, NYC, December 2016
[iii] Prices of international online pharmacies verified by PharmacyChecker.com.
[iv] Prices of international online pharmacies verified by PharmacyChecker.com.
[v] Marketed as Dalacin C in Canad
[vi] Marketed as Toloxin in Canada
[vii] Marketed as Epival in Canada
Tagged with: generic drugs, Narrow Therapeutic Index, The People's Pharmacy, Tod Cooperman
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Dec 9, 2016 | Drug Prices, Generic drugs
To treat gouty arthritis, patients have been taking a drug called Colchicine for over 200 years. Apparently, it’s a very helpful drug, but it’s neither new or innovative, to say the least. It’s no longer under patent protection and is available as a generic medication. It’s supposed to be super cheap, right?
So why is the estimated cash price for Colchicine .6mg at Walgreens about $590 for 100 pills?! Even with a Colchicine discount coupon it’s $239.37 – about $2.40 per pill. Compare that with the lowest cost Colchicine sold at a PharmacyChecker-verified international online pharmacy, 41 cents per pill or $41 for 100 pills – about 90% less than the Walgreens retail price! And just to be clear that’s a Canadian pharmacy price.
You can compare Colchicine prices at local U.S. pharmacies and international online pharmacies on PharmacyChecekr.com.com.
Yes, this is an example of drug companies AND U.S. pharmacies having free reign to charge whatever they want. For brand drugs on patent that often leads to exceedingly high prices because the pharmaceutical company has a monopoly: there’s no competition. But for generic drugs there is supposed to be competition to bring down the price. What went wrong with Colchicine? (more…)
Tagged with: colchicine
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Aug 12, 2016 | Drug Prices, Drug Safety, FDA, Generic drugs, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
I’ve been around the consumer health world for long enough to have a good idea of which groups and individuals really want to find and spread the truth to Americans. Joe and Terry Graedon of the People’s Pharmacy are high on the list. So I was honored to read what they wrote about us (as people, the CEO and me, and as a company) in the latest edition of The Graedon’s Guide to Saving Money On Medicines:
“We have met the founders (Tod Cooperman, MD and Gabriel Levitt, MA). They have impressed us with their commitment to helping U.S. citizens obtain affordable and reliable medications. Even more helpful than the list of pharmacies are the PharmacyChecker.com price comparisons.”
(more…)
Tagged with: consumerlab, joe graedon, People's Pharmacy
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 12, 2016 | Drug Prices, FDA, Generic drugs, Local Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
Brand Name Crestor: Made in Puerto Rico under FDA’s regulations.
Rosuvastatin is now available in U.S. pharmacies as a generic but you can get Crestor 10mg, the brand version, 94% cheaper online. To put some flesh and bones, dollars and sense (pun intended) to this percentile: Ninety pills of generic rosuvastatin cost a whopping $795 at a Walgreens in Brooklyn, NY, but 90 pills of brand name Crestor is $45.65 at a low-cost international online pharmacy, one that is verified by PharmacyChecker.com.
What about using a prescription discount card to buy generic Crestor? Drug price comparison company GoodRx offers a coupon to be used at Rite Aid Pharmacy for a price of $329.52 – still more than seven times the price to get Crestor from an online pharmacy.
Care to know where these drugs are made? It may surprise you. (more…)
Tagged with: Crestor, rosuvastatin
