by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 20, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
Cardura XL packaging
A weekly series identifying prescription drugs manufactured in America and their prices.
Cardura XL (doxazosin mesylate extended release tablets), a product marketed by drug giant Pfizer, is used to treat signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, or an increase in prostate size. Cardura XL is manufactured in the U.S., but available at a much lower price in foreign pharmacies. At a Rite-Aid in New York City, 30 pills (4 mg) costs $94. The lowest price from a PharmacyChecker.com approved pharmacy is $26. That’s a 72% savings or $816 over one year.
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad, Cardura XL, prostatic hyperplasia
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 19, 2013 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies, Politics
Our vice president, Gabriel Levitt (Gabe), presented testimony at a congressional hearing yesterday, urging congress to protect Americans’ access to safe and affordable medication online. The hearing was held by the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet and titled “The Role of Voluntary Agreements in the U.S. Intellectual Property System.” What exactly does this hearing have to do with Americans buying medication from Canada and other countries?
Basically, the government is encouraging large American companies to band together through “voluntary agreements” to stop online piracy and intellectual property violations online and this hearing discussed the effectiveness of these agreements. The heads of big business trade associations attended primarily to defend current practices and encourage even stricter rules. Although the hearing’s focus was about the online availability of copyright material like music and movies, some committee members were pleased to hear about the online pharmacy side of things. Gabe discussed the voluntary agreements adopted by leading Internet and credit card companies to combat rogue online pharmacies through their association in the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies , also known as CSIP. CSIP’s efforts, which rely on data powered by LegitScript, have successfully curbed access to some dangerous web pharmacies, but they also wrongly categorize all non-US online pharmacies that sell to Americans as “unapproved.” This may scare Americans away from safe and affordable pharmacies, including sites approved by PharmacyChecker.com. Gabe said:
We believe that voluntary agreements can be a useful tool in protecting Americans from counterfeit products, but they can also be misused in anti-competitive ways which scare and thwart Americans from accessing affordable medication. This leads to poor medication compliance with negative health consequences and also goes against the Administration’s desire that voluntary agreements not be used to impede competition.
We’d like to thank Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman Melvin Watt who initiated the invitation to Mr. Levitt. While Congressman Watt favors voluntary agreements to combat online intellectual property violations, he genuinely sought insight into how American consumers can be negatively affected by such agreements. You can read the full PharmacyChecker.com congressional testimony and watch the hearing. (Gabe’s testimony begins at 58:00)
Tagged with: Congress, CSIP, Gabriel Levitt, House Judiciary Committee, LegitScript
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 13, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
Lumigan 3 ml packaging
A weekly series identifying prescription drugs manufactured in America and their prices.
Lumigan (bimatoprost) ophthalmic solution is used for the treatment symptoms from glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Lumigan, a product of the drug company Allergan, is manufactured in the U.S., but the price at U.S. pharmacies is about six times higher than in other countries. You can save around 80% by ordering it from a verified international online pharmacy: one 2.5 ml vial of Lumigan costs $114 at a Rite-Aid in New York City, but a 3 ml vial is only $22 from a PharmacyChecker.com-approved pharmacy.
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad, Eye Drops, lumigan
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 10, 2013 | Advocacy, Online Pharmacies
Our vice president, Gabriel Levitt, submitted comments to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to emphasize that the Obama administration’s online pharmacy strategy curtails access by Americans to safe online pharmacies in its otherwise important efforts to combat “rogue” online pharmacies. Its Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) seeks to encourage companies, such as search engines, domain registrars, and credit card companies to prohibit services to dangerous web pharmacies. This may sound good, but all is not what it seems.
IPEC’s efforts led to the creation of the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP), which in our opinion, is essentially a group of very important companies working together to fulfill the wishes of the pharmaceutical industry as they relate to online pharmacies. Founded partly by Google, CSIP is allied with big pharmaceutical and U.S. pharmacy interests, such as Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, LegitScript, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and the Partnership for Safe Medicines. All of these organizations are either fully or partially funded by drug companies or U.S. chain pharmacies, or are paid by the FDA, and help discourage safe personal drug importation while cracking down on real rogue sites. We abhor the former but support the latter. They label safe international online pharmacies as “rogue” or “illegitimate” – scaring people away from affordable medication online. We hope our advice to the U.S. government will help prevent further exacerbation of the problem of Americans skipping prescribed medication due to high drug prices in America.
Tagged with: Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, CSIP, FDA, Partnership for Safe Medicines
by PharmacyChecker.com | Sep 4, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
A weekly series identifying prescription drugs manufactured in America and their prices.
French Invega Packaging
Invega (paliperidone) tablets, a product of Jansen Pharmaceuticals, are used to treat schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in adults and adolescents. Invega is manufactured in the U.S., but is cheaper when ordered in other countries, even for Americans. The price at a New York City CVS for a 90-day supply of Invega 6 mg is $1,932, and that’s even taking into account the savings from a coupon. By ordering from a safe international online pharmacy, the price is only $580. Over one year a consumer could save $5,408 or 70%!
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad, Invega, Jansen, schizophrenia
by PharmacyChecker.com | Aug 30, 2013 | Drug Importation, Drug Prices, Online Pharmacies
Pataday in its American packaging
A weekly series identifying prescription drugs manufactured in America and their prices.
Pataday (olopatadine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution) is a solution used for the treatment of itchy or watering eyes caused by allergies. Pataday is manufactured in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean that’s where it’s cheapest for Americans. In fact, you can save 79% by ordering it from a verified foreign online pharmacy: one 2.5 ml vial of Pataday costs $161 at a Walgreens in New York City, but only $34 from a PharmacyChecker.com-approved pharmacy.
Tagged with: American Made Prescriptions Are Cheaper Abroad, Eye Drops, Pataday
