by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Aug 16, 2018 | Drug Safety
EpiPen, the emergency epinephrine auto-injector medicine, is in short supply in the U.S. and other countries, such as the U.K. and Canada. Now, parents of kids who need to carry around EpiPen Jr. are not just worried about the cost of EpiPen but if they can get it at all. If you are considering buying EpiPen online, here’s my warning:
Only Buy EpiPen from Verified Online Pharmacies
When it comes to fast-acting, life-saving products, buying online from a rogue online pharmacy can turn out to be deadly. If you get a fake or expired product, then it might not work. Enough said. The message is clear: do NOT buy from an online pharmacy that isn’t one associated with your neighborhood pharmacy. If you decide to buy online, stick to online pharmacies that are verified. That includes online pharmacies verified by us, PharmacyChecker, or LegitScript, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy VIPPS program, or the Canadian International Pharmacy Association.
You can buy brand-name EpiPen online from Canada using verified online pharmacies: a two pack for about $230.
Buy Generic EpiPen at U.S. Pharmacies
When it comes to cost and availability, you may not have to look internationally for savings. In the U.S., there’s a generic version made by the same company that makes the brand version, and it’s much less expensive. According to GoodRx, you can buy the generic with a discount coupon for almost half the price of the brand-name sold at Canadian online pharmacies: $125. The brand version in the U.S. is over $600!
Where are all the EpiPens?
According to Market Watch, manufacturing problems are causing EpiPen supply problems. The generic drug company, Mylan, has the license to market and sell EpiPen in the U.S. and Canada, but the brand-name drug company, Pfizer, owns and runs the plant that makes the drug. To make a very long story short, the FDA has cited problems with Pfizer’s protocols for assembling the drug. Pfizer is trying to up its game, but the process is taking some time.
There are epinephrine alternatives to EpiPen, brand and generic. They include Adrenally and Auvi-Q, which might be more affordable. Consumer Reports has a good article on these products, although I’m not sure about their current availability.
The Market Watch article suggests that you can still get the product, but they make it seem a lot more challenging than it should be. If you choose to buy it online, whether for availability or cost, stick to verified sites.
Tagged with: EpiPen, mylan, Pfizer, shortages
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Feb 23, 2018 | Drug Importation
I’m telling you Canadian drugs are safe but vote against importation.
In the Utah House of Representatives, Health and Human Services Committee, there was a meeting a few weeks back to discuss Rep. Norman Thurston’s drug importation bill. The bill’s aim is to lower prescription drug costs for Utah by importing lower-cost medications from Canada. The committee passed it 9-2. A week later, the Utah House passed the bill 39-31! But in that committee meeting, during the public session where organizations came out in favor and against the bill, something unique happened.
During his remarks against Thurston’s drug importation bill, one Mr. Peter Pitts said, and I quote from the audio clip: “I will tell you one thing in defense of Canada…If you drive up across the border and you go to a brick and mortar pharmacy and you get a product. That product is safe and effective; just as safe and effective as a U.S. product.”
I’ve followed and written about Big Pharma’s positions on importation for over 15 years. Its mantra and that of its hired guns is that the U.S. system for regulating pharmaceuticals is the world’s “gold standard.” As you’ll discover, Mr. Pitts, as I see it, is one of those hired guns and a notable one. Therefore, it’s great and fun to have him on the record, clearly (emphatically) stating that Canada’s system for regulating prescription drugs and the drugs sold in Canadian pharmacies are just as good as the ones sold here. That means Canada is the Gold Standard, too!
Listen to the whole hearing.
Note to all my fellow Americans that didn’t already know: if you live close to Canada and can’t afford your medication, then, according to Mr. Pitts, the medication there is damn good…not to mention a lot less expensive. Did you also know that federal law bans U.S. Customs Border Patrol from preventing people who are traveling back from Canada from importing small quantities of prescription drugs when they are for personal use? See: Can I drive to Canada to fill a prescription?
Who is this guy? Who cares? (more…)
Tagged with: Canada, Canadian pharmacies, CMPI, Peter Pitts, Pfizer, phrma, thurston, utah
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | Sep 20, 2017 | Drug Prices
Pfizer wants to sell Viagra to you without you having to go to your doctor to get a prescription first. Sorry Yanks—this only applies to our friends that live in the United Kingdom, but this is absolutely of interest to us Americans because of Pfizer’s history with misleading public information campaigns surrounding sildenafil citrate (the generic name for Viagra). Those campaigns scare people from lower-cost Viagra available online.
But why? The per pill cost of Viagra today is as high as $75/100 mg pill. That’s $450 for just six pills! If you look hard, you can find it for just under $60 at your local U.S. pharmacy. In Canada, it’s as low as about $11; New Zealand about $9. Compare Viagra prices available online from pharmacies that do require your prescription.
Now that you understand Pfizer’s financial interest in trying to make sure Americans buy locally, let’s talk about prescription requirements and Viagra.
Pfizer has spent considerable sums of money fighting online sales of Viagra in the name of protecting patients from getting counterfeit drugs and has warned consumers not to buy it without a prescription. That media narrative scares men from buying lower-cost, genuine Viagra online. This includes from online pharmacies that do require a valid prescription. I’ve told this Viagra truth before.
But where does Pfizer really stand on the prescription requirement? (more…)
Tagged with: no prescription, Pfizer, United Kingdom, Viagra
