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A pharmacist stacks prescriptions in a Buenos Aires pharmacy that only sells prescription drugs. Drug importation is technically illegal in the U.S., but individuals are allowed to make small cross-boarder purchases of prescriptions for their own use. The FDA has come down against the practice, however, saying it cannot ensure the safety or quality of medications from foreign sources. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
Reuters

Sep 20, 2005 — By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year on brand-name prescription drugs if they use a Canadian Internet pharmacy instead of their local drug store, researchers reported Monday.

On average, their study found, Americans could save 24 percent on their prescriptions if they shopped at an online Canadian pharmacy rather than a U.S. drug chain. Depending on the type of drug and how many prescriptions a person has, the savings could add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.

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The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, add to the contentious issue of U.S. consumers’ “importation” of medications from Canada, where the government sets price controls on prescriptions.

Faced with high drug prices at home, some Americans — an estimated 2 million last year — have been mail-ordering their prescriptions from Canadian online pharmacies. And some cities, counties and states have programs in place to help them do it.

It is generally assumed that brand-name drugs are cheaper in Canada. However, no study had actually compared prices at Canadian online outlets with those of large U.S. chain drug stores, according to authors of the new study, led by Dr. Mark J. Eisenberg of McGill University in Quebec.

In their comparison, the researchers found that the biggest deals were for the psychiatric drug Zyprexa — $1,159 in yearly savings — the diabetes medication Actos and the heartburn drug Nexium.

Certain widely used brand-name drugs — including other heartburn medications and some cholesterol-lowering statin drugs — were among those with the largest cost savings, at $600 to $700-plus per year.

Drug importation is technically illegal in the U.S., but individuals are allowed make small cross-boarder purchases of prescriptions for their own use. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has come down against the practice, however, saying it cannot ensure the safety or quality of medications from foreign sources.