Drugs from Canada

[imoldernu]

Not specifically about drugs from Canada, but definitely germaine to saving money.
The article starts off with a statement that drug costs have increased annually by 10% since 2010. (If I did the math correctly, that works out to a compound interest total of nearly 200% in 7 years)


Tips to help save money on prescription drug costs

[AllDone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Not specifically about drugs from Canada, but definitely germaine to saving money. The article starts off with a statement that drug costs have increased annually by 10% since 2010. (If I did the math correctly, that works out to a compound interest total of nearly 200% in 7 years) Tips to help save money on prescription drug costs

Yep.

Big Pharma is said to spend more money on market research than drug research too.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider I also think that stopping all advertising for drugs would also bring prices down dramatically. This "Ask your Doctor If XYZ is right for you" should not be permitted at all based on something an actor told you on TV. The Cost of Advertising is tremendously high. In all the countries I have lived in during my life, this practice is only allowed in the US. But to do so would bring out the Pharma Lobbyists in force (as if they are not already) not to mention the Advertising lobby too.

One of the things that helped make our childhoods' carefree was lack of drug and lawyer commercials on TV. Things really changed after they were allowed.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllDone Big Pharma is said to spend more money on market research than drug research too.

Not surprising since many of the drugs they come out with have very limited value or come with side effects that are worse then the cure.

[Just_Steve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras One of the things that helped make our childhoods' carefree was lack of drug and lawyer commercials on TV. Things really changed after they were allowed.

Sure, but the Marlboro Man was ok.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras One of the things that helped make our childhoods' carefree was lack of drug and lawyer commercials on TV. Things really changed after they were allowed.

Then again, one thing that helped my childhood be carefree was the Polio Vacine. I knew several kids for which its introduction was too late. Some died. Others still suffer. Of course, YMMV.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinger1457 Not surprising since many of the drugs they come out with have very limited value or come with side effects that are worse then the cure.

Interested to see the data on this. Maybe it slipped past the FDA.

Third truth on pharmaceuticals. Those without side effects are also those without therapeutic effects. Want to avoid side effects. Have your doc give you sterile normal saline solution for every ailment. You won't get any better, but you most likely won't have any side effects either. Oh, and don't let her inject it into you. Drink it instead. YMMV

[AllDone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau Then again, one thing that helped my childhood be carefree was the Polio Vacine. I knew several kids for which its introduction was too late. Some died. Others still suffer. Of course, YMMV.

+1

My parents, who remember polio, think the vaccine was one of the greatest things ever. I read through some 1950s medical journals with reports about polio vaccine testing. It was amazing to read the fizzy sense of excitement that couldn't help but show through the dry academic writing. It was kind of touching. Neither Dr. Salk nor Dr. Sabin patented their vaccines.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau Then again, one thing that helped my childhood be carefree was the Polio Vacine. I knew several kids for which its introduction was too late. Some died. Others still suffer. Of course, YMMV.

Yeah, I remember events like that. A girl who lived next door was in leg braces for years because of polio, and an aunt had a leg that was a couple of inches shorter than the other because of polio.

When the vaccines became available my parents made doggone sure all three of us kids got it. And while my father hated standing in lines as much as anyone, what stood out was that there wasn't a peep of complaint from him when we got the three doses of the Salk vaccine. As I recall they had to be about a week apart at the time so we had to go to the Jr. High School in the evening.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Yeah, I remember events like that. A girl who lived next door was in leg braces for years because of polio, and an aunt had a leg that was a couple of inches shorter than the other because of polio. When the vaccines became available my parents made doggone sure all three of us kids got it. And while my father hated standing in lines as much as anyone, what stood out was that there wasn't a peep of complaint from him when we got the three doses of the Salk vaccine. As I recall they had to be about a week apart at the time so we had to go to the Jr. High School in the evening.

I had similar experiences when I was a kid. When I see people not vaccinating their kids I have to shake my head.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras The State of North Carolina claims to be one of the first to try to get ahead of this by creating a website where you can put your favorite online pharmacy in and check. This is a brand new initiative. Verify Before You Buy

Looks like complete BS to me. I went in as a web site that wanted to be seen as legit, and basically they charge you to be considered legit...essentially a "protection racket" (you pay us and your business can thrive, otherwise people will see "rogue" in red).

As to the current straw-man discussion about how if you don't love the current sales and marketing practices of big pharma that means that you don't appreciate the successful drugs that save lives, make life better, etc...that discussion is just inflammatory and IMHO, not helpful.

Obviously we're all super thankful for the research and development that went on, not only in corporate R&D, but also, significantly, in the academic environment, that brought us and is bringing us life saving and life enhancing drugs. That is quite distinct from the greedy sales practices that US buyers have to deal with.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational You're getting drugs from other countries no matter where the pharmacy you buy them from is.

So true, my local pharmacy (the big name one) gave me a prescription and when I peeled off the label they stuck on it, I found out it was made in Ireland !!!!!

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset So true, my local pharmacy (the big name one) gave me a prescription and when I peeled off the label they stuck on it, I found out it was made in Ireland !!!!!

You shouldn't be surprised at that.

"The pharmaceutical industry in Ireland comprises a mix of international and local companies. Approximately 120 overseas companies have plants in Ireland including 9 of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world."

Contribution to the Irish Economy

[Meadbh]

Now this:

6 Canadians arrested in U.S. extradition request for allegedly selling fake cancer drugs online - Manitoba - CBC News

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh This 2013 newspaper article provides background on the internet pharmacy industry in Manitoba. Bitter Pill: The rise and fall of Manitoba's Internet pharmacy pioneers - Winnipeg Free Press

Wow - that was quite a read. But also a long time ago and things have really changed since then I would think.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Wow - that was quite a read. But also a long time ago and things have really changed since then I would think.

Read the link from my post #74. It was published today.

[Surewhitey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational $0.50 each at canadadrugs online: https://www.canadadrugsonline.com/DrugMoreInfo253.aspx $2.50 each at the best price on goodrx: https://www.goodrx.com/colchicine?dr...ide=colchicine Yes, there are many drugs that the pharma money grabbers have lost control of. Colchicine is not one of them, since it's available in Canada for 1/5th the price of the best US price.

+1 on goodrx.com. I've used it when Walmart didn't have an already awesome price on whatever I needed...

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset So true, my local pharmacy (the big name one) gave me a prescription and when I peeled off the label they stuck on it, I found out it was made in Ireland !!!!!

Actually, not surprising at all. This all started over 20 years ago in Ireland. All the major US drug firms have much of their manufacturing in Ireland due to tax issues within the US. This could get political, but the US has "done it to itself" by having such high Corp. taxes compared to other countries. You could argue "right or wrong" on whether we should have such high corp. tax, but the effect is jobs go over seas and then "stuff" (like drugs) come back. Again, not right or wrong, just good business on the part of the drug companies. We as FIRE'd folks do the same. We buy from Costco instead of Mom and Pop and soon Mom and Pop are out of business. We might feel bad about Mom and Pop, but we won't pay double to keep them in business. YMMV

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Now this: 6 Canadians arrested in U.S. extradition request for allegedly selling fake cancer drugs online - Manitoba - CBC News

Interesting accusation. We'll probably never hear about the outcome of the charges, though. They were selling to doctors.

Quote:

U.S. federal prosecutors have accused Thorkelson, CanadaDrugs.com, and affiliated companies and associates in the United Kingdom and Barbados of illegally importing and selling $78 million worth of unapproved new drugs, misbranded drugs and counterfeit drugs to American doctors between 2009 and 2012. "Canada Drugs purchased its inventory from questionable sources and ultimately sold counterfeit versions of the drugs Altuzan and Avastin to physicians in the United States," court documents allege.

After doing a quick search, I see that there were lots of warnings posted back in 2009-2012 about fake versions of this drug.

I was going to look-up the price, but bevacizumab (Avastin / Altuzan) is provided by a doctor and is generally not available at a pharmacy, so doesn't show up on goodrx.com. Wikipedia said " the average price charged by hospitals for bevacizumab is approximately $9000 compared to approximately $2300 when administered in a doctor's office".

Since a single dose of this drug (in this is super-high price range), would meet my annual deductible, I'd certainly not try to procure it via mail order. Instead, I'd pay for the first dose and get rest of the doses that year "for free".

[Surewhitey]

I'm more of a risk taker and bring back meds from Mexico when we go to visit...so far, so good.