by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 31, 2011 | Drug Importation, Online Pharmacies
Last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed S. 968, Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, also known as the Protect IP Act. Its passage represents a real threat to Americans’ access to safe and affordable medications online and we hope that as the bill makes its way through the legislative process it will be amended appropriately.
Essentially, the bill will make it easier to crackdown on rogue pharmacy sites selling fake meds and not requiring a prescription, which is great; however, it will also encourage actions to block Americans’ access to reputable and affordable non-U.S. online pharmacies that sell genuine medication and require a prescription, which are a lifeline for uninsured Americans. That’s because of Section 5, which includes in its definition of “infringing sites” online pharmacies that sell medications to Americans that are not manufactured in a facility approved by the FDA. (more…)
Tagged with: Americans, Australia, Canada, cloture, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eli Lily, European Union, fake meds, FDA, First Amendment, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, legislation, Merck, Online Pharmacies, Pfizer, S.968, Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Wyden, The Protect Intellectual Property Act, UK, United States
by PharmacyChecker.com | May 24, 2011 | Drug Prices, Saving Money on Prescription Drugs
Generic prescriptions are on the rise, as doctors are prescribing them, and pharmacies are filling them, now more than ever. We recently wrote that the percentage of generic scripts being dispensed rose to 78% last year. But the popularity for generics – attributed to the significantly lower price tag compared to brand name drugs – is expected to take on a whole new meaning, as the patents for some blockbuster brand name drugs expire this year; this is also known as the “Patent Cliff”.
The biggest prize, Pfizer’s Lipitor (for Cholesterol), the number one selling drug in the U.S., goes generic later this year (November 2011); and Plavix (a blood thinner) and Actos (for Diabetes) will follow (May 2012 and August 2012, respectively). As patents run out, these and other popular prescription drugs will be far more affordable in the U.S., since generic drug prices tend to be lower here than in other countries. (more…)
Tagged with: Actos, blood thinner, brand name drugs, Canada, Celebrex, Cholesterol, consumer guide, Costco.com, diabetes, generic prescriptions, Lipitor, Patent Cliff, Pfizer, Plavix, Seroquel, Simvastatin, U.S. pharmacies, United States, Zocor
by Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com and Prescription Justice | May 17, 2011 | Online Pharmacies, Personal Drug Importation
A new post on RxRights.org explains how the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)’s Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program wrongly misleads consumers and the media by tagging all non-U.S. online pharmacies that sell to Americans as “rogue.” Essentially, that program’s list includes dangerous rogue online pharmacies along with reputable online pharmacies that meet high standards of safety but are simply not based in the United States. American consumers should expect more from pharmacy regulatory authorities and deserve to be properly informed. By adding properly verified international online pharmacies to the list, NABP scares Americans away from safe and affordable sources of medication. RxRight.org alerts the public that NABP’s program was sponsored with a grant from the drug giant Pfizer.
The post also deconstructs the ridiculous notion that only “FDA-approved” drugs are safe. It explains that the same exact drug purchased from a Canadian pharmacy (or any non-U.S. pharmacy) that is sold in the United States is “Not FDA-approved.” How can that be if it’s the same drug? There are many reasons, but one primary reason is labeling. FDA-approved drugs include approval of the drug’s specific labeling. That means that virtually all drugs sold in Canada that are compositionally identical to those sold in the United States are not “FDA-approved” because their labeling is different (such as including information in French and English), but of course they are equally as safe.
PharmacyChecker.com applauds RxRights.org for exposing misinformation campaigns sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry meant to scare Americans away from safe and affordable online pharmacies, wrongly inform the media, and shape our nation’s laws and regulations.
Tagged with: Canada, Canadian pharmacies, drugs from canada, FDA-approved, National Associations of Boards of Pharmacy, Not FDA-approved, Online Pharmacies, Pfizer, rogue pharmacies, RxRights.org, United States
