White Plains, NY — April 21, 2017 — Today, PharmacyChecker.com released its first International Prescription Savings Quarterly Report, which shows that U.S. consumers can save an average of 70% when buying medication online from Canadian pharmacies verified in the PharmacyChecker Verification Program. Even greater savings (up to 97%) are available when purchasing from other countries. The report (chart below) compares U.S. and foreign prices for 20 of the most commonly prescribed brand name medications.
While Congress considers several bills to make it expressly lawful to import medication for personal use, recent surveys show that between 19 to 27 million have already done so to save money, despite the federal restrictions on the practice. The government has not pursued individuals for doing this.
"Last year 45 million Americans didn't fill their prescriptions because of cost," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., CEO of PharmacyChecker.com. "Our Savings Report indicates that many of them could be helped by taking advantage of lower prices on medications in countries such as Canada and the U.K. where prices are just a fraction of those at home."
Savings from pharmacies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK average 71%, and those in India and Turkey have savings averaging 82% and 85%, respectively.
The greatest potential savings in the current report is 97% on the cholesterol drug Crestor, which costs $10.31 in the U.S. for a 10 mg pill, compared to 36 cents from India; from Canada it is $2.19. For half of the 20 medications, lower cost generics are available in the U.S. and should be considered if prices are more favorable than those from abroad.
| PharmacyChecker.com International Savings Report: 1Q2017 | ||||||||||
| Medications | Per Pill Cost (unless otherwise indicated) | Potential Savings vs. U.S. | ||||||||
| Brand Name (Condition treated) | Strength | U.S. | CAN | UK/AU/NZ | India | Turkey | CAN | UK/AU/NZ | India | Turkey |
| Nexium (acid reflux) | 40 mg | $9.54 | $2.69 | $2.54 | $0.54 | $0.36 | 72% | 73% | 94% | 96% |
| Crestor (cholesterol) | 10mg | $10.31 | $2.19 | $1.82 | $0.36 | $0.40 | 79% | 82% | 97% | 96% |
| Januvia (diabetes) | 100 mg | $14.94 | $3.90 | $3.04 | $1.36 | $0.86 | 74% | 80% | 91% | 94% |
| Spiriva Handihaler (bronchitis) [1] | 18 mcg | $521.00 | $78.30 | $89.67 | N/A | $25.94 | 85% | 83% | N/A | 95% |
| Namenda (dementia) | 10 mg | $5.92 | $4.21 | $5.27 | N/A | $0.80 | 29% | 11% | N/A | 86% |
| Nasonex (nasal allergies) [1] | 50 mcg | $295.00 | $44.18 | $50.96 | $30.64 | $26.67 | 85% | 83% | 90% | 91% |
| Flovent HFA (asthma) [1] | 110 mcg | $252.67 | $76.63 | $55.33 | N/A | $70.99 | 70% | 78% | N/A | 72% |
| Abilify (psychosis, depression) | 5 mg | $29.67 | $6.11 | $6.23 | N/A | $2.12 | 79% | 79% | N/A | 93% |
| Cialis (erectile dysfunction) | 5 mg | $11.40 | $4.36 | $5.41 | N/A | $3.15 | 62% | 53% | N/A | 72% |
| Viagra (erectile dysfunction) | 100 mg | $58.47 | $19.16 | $14.11 | $19.48 | $7.58 | 67% | 76% | 67% | 87% |
| Advair Diskus (asthma) [1] | 250/ 50mcg | $418.00 | $111.60 | $72.47 | $95.00 | $95.00 | 73% | 83% | 77% | 77% |
| Xarelto (clots and stroke) | 20 mg | $14.60 | $6.19 | $6.31 | $5.18 | $5.18 | 58% | 57% | 65% | 65% |
| Bystolic (high blood pressure) | 10 mg | $4.58 | $2.17 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 53% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Synthroid (thyroid) | 100mcg | $1.43 | $0.30 | $0.66 | $0.36 | N/A | 79% | 54% | 75% | N/A |
| Lantus Solostar (diabetes) [2] | 3 ml | $447.33 | $149.99 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 66% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Lantus (diabetes) [2] | 100 units/ml | $387.67 | $99.99 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 74% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ventolin HFA (bronchial conditions) [1] | 18g/90mcg | $68.00 | $27.77 | $18.66 | $10.44 | N/A | 59% | 73% | 85% | N/A |
| Symbicort (asthma) [1] | 160 /4.5mcg | $445.25 | N/A | $80.25 | $83.00 | N/A | N/A | 82% | 81% | N/A |
| Tamiflu (influenza) [2] | 75 mg | $1,730. | $579.00 | $788.40 | N/A | N/A | 67% | 54% | N/A | N/A |
| Zetia (cholesterol) | 10 mg | $11.67 | $2.97 | $1.70 | N/A | N/A | 75% | 85% | N/A | N/A |
| Celebrex (pain, inflammation) | 200 mg | $9.40 | $0.92 | $1.06 | N/A | N/A | 90% | 89% | N/A | N/A |
| Average Savings | 70% | 71% | 82% | 85% | ||||||
[1] Per inhaler, [2] Full price for three-month supply. Sources: U.S. prices shown are lowest retail cash prices from licensed pharmacies in Brooklyn, NY. All other prices from price comparisons on PharmacyChecker.com from verified online pharmacies in other countries.
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Founded in 2002, PharmacyChecker.com is the leading website for comparing prices of medications available online from licensed pharmacies around the world whose credentials have been verified in PharmacyChecker.com's Pharmacy Verification Program under the direction of Kelly Ann Barnes, JD, RPh, a registered pharmacist and former Director of Pharmacy Quality Assurance for the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy.
