For those of us looking online for safe and affordable medication, it’s very disconcerting to hear about the problem of fake Canadian online pharmacies, or any fake online pharmacy, and the myriad ways they can endanger your health, such as by sending counterfeit or substandard medication or engaging in identity theft. We can help you avoid the bad guys.
Just last week the FDA reported that – through Operation Pangea VI – thousands of illegal online pharmacies, including fake Canadian ones, were shutdown to protect Americans from dangerous medication. The FDA should be applauded for shutting down dangerous sites. However, even though there are real Canadian and other international online pharmacies that are safe and have very low drug prices, the FDA continues to warn Americans not to use them through its BeSafeRx program. We believe this confuses Americans about what they need to do to obtain prescribed and affordable medication safely online.
A fake Canadian online pharmacy is essentially a website dressed up with the Canadian flag, maple leafs, with red and white colors, or other graphics of Canada, but without actual ties to Canada. In fact, a majority of so called “Canadian” online pharmacies are based overseas, many in Russia and Eastern Europe. Some of them are even known to have ties to organized crime. Simply put, they are not Canadian pharmacies. Like all rogue online pharmacies, fake Canadian online pharmacies often:
Don’t require prescriptions;
Don’t publish verifiable and useful contact information;
Don’t fill orders through licensed pharmacies;
Don’t sell real or safe medications;
Don’t have licensed pharmacist dispensing your prescription order; and
Don’t protect your personal and financial information.
A real Canadian online pharmacy offers the following:
Regulated medications that are approved by a respected national drug regulatory authority;
Prescription fulfillment through licensed pharmacies, dispensed by licensed pharmacists;
Requirement of your valid prescription, issued by your doctor – NOT through an online questionnaire;
Verifiable contact information, including telephone number and mailing address;
Online pharmacy operation by or affiliated with a licensed Canadian pharmacy; and
The ability for consumers to speak with a licensed pharmacist for counseling;.
There are a small number of real Canadian online pharmacies that no longer work with a Canadian bricks and mortar pharmacy because they have transferred prescription fulfillment to licensed pharmacies in other countries. They retain the Canadian moniker or have the word “Canada” in their web addresses to keep their original branding and website. That doesn’t mean they are not safe. However, they ought to be transparent and disclose that medications ordered come from pharmacies outside of Canada.
This brings up an important side note: where are your medications really coming from and who is making them? When you buy a prescription medication at your local U.S. pharmacy that does not mean it was made in the United States. Almost half of all prescription drugs sold in U.S. pharmacies are imported. Furthermore, U.S. pharmacies do not inform you who made the active ingredients (the main ingredient that treats you) – in the medication you are taking. Most active pharmaceutical ingredients – 80% according to the FDA – found in U.S. pharmacy prescription drugs are made outside the U.S., mostly in India and China. If you buy a prescription drug from Canada and most other countries the same holds true. Don’t despair, the U.S. and many other countries have strong safety protocols to protect their prescription drug supplies: those same supplies usually just cost much more in the United States.
Here’s a chart to show you the difference between real and fake Canadian online pharmacies. As you’ll see it’s like day and night:
Real Canadian Online Pharmacies
Fake Canadian Online Pharmacies
Sells only regulated medication?
YES
NO
Prescription fulfilled through licensed pharmacies and by licensed pharmacists?
To read more about this issue see our press release.
This NABP/ICANN issue can be very confusing so I offer the following explanation. ICANN is a non-profit organization that governs the world wide web system of domain names, such as .com, .org., and .edu. For a long time the available suffixes, called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that could be used for website names have been limited. Last year ICANN opened up a process by which companies and organizations could apply to act as registry – administrators – for new names, such as .career, .casino, .charity, etc. In theory, this could open up new opportunities for innovation and development over the Internet. However, a pharma-funded initiative to make the rules and govern the Internet in an area as critical as the distribution of prescription medication will serve only to protect business interests to the detriment of consumers.
David Moon from Demand Progress, an Internet freedom group and lead organization in battling the Stop Online Piracy Act, sums it up perfectly: “From our direct experience with NABP and its allies in Internet policy disputes, there is ample cause to believe the applicant seeks to control .pharmacy to the detriment of free speech & access to safe and affordable medication for consumers.”
Here is a list of the groups and people who have voiced opposition and concern about NABP’s application for .Pharmacy:
We applaud RxRights.org for its critical advocacy efforts on behalf of Americans who are struggling to afford prescription medication, including recent actions to defend the truth about safe international online pharmacies and savings. One new blog post features three video testimonials from Americans who import their medication, and another explains the facts about international online pharmacies. Check out Gary’s story:
First, Gary and the other Americans who offered testimonials should be commended for having the courage to speak up about ordering medication from international online pharmacies and discussing their drug affordability problems.
Gary orders his diabetes medication from Canada so he doesn’t have to forgo other needed household goods. He has been buying medication from Canada for many years and has “never had the first bit of problems.” But the drug companies – and even the FDA – will lead you to believe that this is dangerous! So why is Gary so comfortable using international online pharmacies?
Well, the other blog post gives us the answer: The only real difference between medications sent by mail from a licensed international pharmacy and what you can find in a neighborhood pharmacy is the cost. In fact, you can save between 50 and 80 percent by ordering online internationally and receive the same exact medicine!
The ongoing federal government crackdown on U.S. pharmacy sales of narcotic prescription medications, most notably against Walgreens in Florida, serves to remind us that prescription drug abuse is a major health problem. But only a tiny fraction of illegal prescription narcotic sales take place online, less than 1% according to Agent Robert Hill of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (.4% to be exact).
The DEA seeks to shutdown a major Walgreen’s distribution center in Jupiter, Florida. As part of its investigation of Walgreens, the DEA found that one of its pharmacies was supplied 3271 bottles of oxycodone, a highly abused narcotic, during a 40-day period in a town with less than 3000 people. It appears that Walgreens knew about supply abuses but did not heed the warnings until confronted by DEA. One email obtained during the investigation shows an employee confused about how the receiving pharmacy could “even house this many bottles.”
The prescription drug abuse crisis in the United States is a domestic not international or “foreign pharmacy” distribution problem. In fact, reputable international online pharmacies, based in Canada or elsewhere, do not sell controlled substances to Americans. When it comes to the Internet, Americans should use extreme caution if ordering controlled substances online by only ordering from licensed U.S. pharmacies with the proper DEA registration and in compliance with the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act.
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.
Diovan HCT (Valsartan Hydrochlorothiazide) is one of the most popular drugs in America for treating high blood pressure, a condition that afflicts about 68 million Americans and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Though Diovan HCT became available as a generic at the end of last year, its brand name and generic costs are still high. If you are fed up with these prices, you can find serious savings either by ordering online or using a variety of discounts at your local pharmacy. Here’s the good news: You can save over 80% on both brand and generic versions!
Diovan HCT Discounts:
My local pharmacy in New York City charges $515 for a 90-day supply of Diovan HCT. Expensive! By ordering from a verified international online pharmacy, I found I could save 88% and pay only $63 for a 90-day supply. That’s an annual savings of $1,808. The savings from a discount card, discount coupon, and U.S.-based online pharmacy weren’t so hot – each one saved around $80, or 16%. Check out the price comparisons.
Valsartan Hydrochlorothiazide Discounts:
Even though generic Diovan HCT is available as Valsartan Hydrochlorothiazide in the U.S., it is still expensive at $369.99 for 90 pills. Once again, the best savings were found are from verified international online pharmacies — $61 for 90 pills. The drug coupon was the best domestic option, bringing the price for 90 pills to $147, but this was only at one particular pharmacy. If you choose to use a coupon or discount card, make sure to check prices at all pharmacies in your area, as they will often be different. View our pricing table below.
Savings on 90 Pills of Diovan HCT (160/12.5 mg)
Program
Price
Savings over Local Pharmacy
Percent savings
U.S. Local Pharmacy
$515.00
—
—
Discount Card Option
$433.79
$81.21
16%
Discount Coupon Option
$432.94
$82.06
16%
U.S. Online Pharmacy
$430.31
$84.69
16%
International Online Pharmacy
$63.00*
$452.00
88%
Local pharmacy in New York City, U.S. online international pharmacy found at Healthwarehouse.com International Online Pharmacy price as found on PharmacyChecker.com, discount card used found on RxCut.com, coupon found on Goodrx.com. Prices collected 2/19/2013.
*Price Calculated from 84 pills
Savings on 90 Pills of Valsartan Hydrochlorothiazide(160/12.5 mg)
Program
Price
Savings over Local Pharmacy
Percent savings
U.S. Local Pharmacy
$369.99
—
—
Discount Card Option
$340.74
$29.25
8%
Discount Coupon Option
$147.74
$222.25
60%
U.S. Online Pharmacy
$289.00
$80.99
22%
International Online Pharmacy
$61.00
$308.99
84%%
Local pharmacy in New York City, U.S. online international pharmacy found at Healthwarehouse.com International Online Pharmacy price as found on PharmacyChecker.com, discount card used found on RxCut.com, coupon found on Goodrx.com. Prices collected 2/19/2013.
Welcome to PharmacyChecker Blog, brought to you by PharmacyChecker.com:
A source for news and analysis about drug prices and safety, online pharmacies and personal drug importation, published on behalf of American consumers.
For those of us looking online for safe and affordable medication, it’s very disconcerting to hear about the problem of fake Canadian online pharmacies, or any fake online pharmacy, and the myriad ways they can endanger your health, such as by sending counterfeit or substandard medication or engaging in identity theft. We can help you avoid the bad guys.
