Community Forums

John Harrelson · 08-25-2006, 07:18 PM

Got this in the the mail today and thought I would pass it along to everyone.

I'm one of the lucky people. I have the Veteran's hospital/medical coverage, but many of you do not... Maybe this will help with your medicine bills..

John
************************************************
Date : Fri, Aug 25, 2006 08:32 AM

Hello All,

I looked this up on Snopes.com and they confirm this one is true. While they can't confirm all the prices, they did confirm the basic story (IE: the mark-ups, the research, and that Costco generally has the lowest prescription prices).

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications?
Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet.

We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA.
As we have revealed in the past, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries.

In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The data below speaks for itself.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec : 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809

Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies.
He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo... three thousand percent!

So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.

For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20.

What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that COSTCO consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.

I went to the COSTCO website, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled.

Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.

I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS.
I checked the price at COSTCO, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89.

For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57.
I could have got 150 at COSTCO for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although COSTCO is a "membership" type store,
you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance.

You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true) I went there this past Thursday and asked them.

Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458 Office Fax: 202-482-5480 E-mail Address: sdavis@doc.gov
************************************************

John Harrelson · 08-25-2006, 07:18 PM

Got this in the the mail today and thought I would pass it along to everyone.

I'm one of the lucky people. I have the Veteran's hospital/medical coverage, but many of you do not... Maybe this will help with your medicine bills..

John
************************************************
Date : Fri, Aug 25, 2006 08:32 AM

Hello All,

I looked this up on Snopes.com and they confirm this one is true. While they can't confirm all the prices, they did confirm the basic story (IE: the mark-ups, the research, and that Costco generally has the lowest prescription prices).

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications?
Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet.

We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA.
As we have revealed in the past, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries.

In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The data below speaks for itself.

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec : 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809

Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies.
He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo... three thousand percent!

So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.

For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20.

What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that COSTCO consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.

I went to the COSTCO website, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled.

Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.

I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS.
I checked the price at COSTCO, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89.

For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57.
I could have got 150 at COSTCO for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although COSTCO is a "membership" type store,
you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance.

You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (this is true) I went there this past Thursday and asked them.

Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458 Office Fax: 202-482-5480 E-mail Address: sdavis@doc.gov
************************************************

skipsor · 08-26-2006, 09:10 AM

I can tell you that my experience with Costco's pharmacy has been very positive.

Our dog has something called fear aggression and our veterinarian prescribed Prozac, actually Fluoxetine which is the generic name, for her. My first trip was to Sav-on drug store and they charged us $86 for 60 pills.

Rite Aid wanted $70+.

Wal-Mart's price was around $20.

Costco, $8 and change.

A $78 difference?

It does pay to shop around for your medications.

DonavonP · 08-26-2006, 11:06 AM

Thanks John, That's very interesting. Just think what gasoline would cost us with a 134,999% profit margin.

Whew!!!

John Harrelson · 08-26-2006, 04:29 PM

HOLY COW ! ! ! ! !

I had not thought of that... According to the 60 minutes program, gas cost about $2 per gallon to make..

$2 X 3000% = $ GOOD LORD ! ! ! !

dirko · 08-30-2006, 11:52 AM

Hi Ho: When I read about drug prices I think that drugs are mostly a question of what people will pay. We are currently living in Jena, Germany for 18 months and are therefore more challenged than ever to get the drugs we need. Yesterday we stopped by the pharmacy to get a drug that my wife needs for rheumatoid arthritis. This is a dibilitating disease that effects the joints. She has a good rheumatologist in Utah who gave her a perscription for a drug called Enbrel made by Wyeth Co. This is an injection given once a week. Without it she would not be able to get around. Even though the drug is made here in Germany, prices are very high (no Costco here). Our price for a 3-month supply was 5134.00 Euro. That is about $7000. It took over 2 weeks at the money machine getting a maximum every day to collect that much. The lady in the pharmacy said she had never had that much money in her hand at one time. Why so much?? Well, it seems the reason is just because there is no other choice and they know it. Doesn't seem fair does it?

Retird2Golf · 08-30-2006, 12:14 PM

Hey Dirk, and I

Whine about a
$10.00 co-pay

Kazoo Tom · 08-30-2006, 04:00 PM

My wife has been undergoing chemo all this spring and summer. After each session she goes back in the next day for a Neulasta shot to help her white count. Cost for each shot = $5,000. They couldn't fit enough gold in that vial to total that amount! Fortunately insurance pays for the shot at the local cancer center.

TennesseeSue · 08-30-2006, 05:22 PM

A helpful website for RX for some people might be www.needymeds.com. If you have no or low RX coverage this might be a huge benefit for someone.

DonavonP · 09-01-2006, 05:26 AM

Certain Foods contribute to various types of body pains.

My wife almost completely eliminated muscle cramping by stopping all dairy products, processed sugar, and wheat flour. Almost impossible to do with today's grocery stores.

jfb · 09-01-2006, 07:09 AM

I feel, also, that drug prices are "too high" if one thought only in terms of ingrediant costs. However, if a manufacturer had to sell to the distributors at cost plus, say, 10% markup, we all would be out in the brush looking for herbs like our distant ancestors did. It's mostly about recovery of the cost of research and development, FDA approval, manufacture and packaging, overhead (got to pay those CEO's)and (yuck!) the cost of those slick ads we see on TV and in the print media. I suspect that the middlemen take their cuts. Finally, the retailers have to stay in business and they have add their markups. To sum it all up, think of our alternatives....

JudyandJim · 09-01-2006, 02:15 PM

Here is another interesting little fact:

It takes the drug companies approximately 2 years of selling a drug to recoup the money they spent on the research and development, so they don't make a profit right away. Which is the reason that, even when the FDA finds that a drug is not as safe as they thought, they take a long time to take it off the market, generally 2 years

And just about the time their patent expires, and a drug can go generic, they come out with a new and improved version of the same drug. Big Pharma is a money making machine.

But don't get me started on Big Pharma or the FDA....

Jack_Va · 09-05-2006, 11:35 AM

I have been fortunate to be able to participate in two clinical drug research studies as a patient. These studies are conducted locally by a research firm and are heavily monitored by MDs at all levels. My information is that it can take as long as 10 years for final FDA approval but that the patent timing begins when they apply to the FDA, and it is initially for 17 years. To me that says it all and my monthly drug costs are way high.

2SAM · 09-27-2006, 01:14 PM

Unless you live in Fl. you would not have heard this on your news, but Walmart has started something new in Tampa Fl. Generic Prescription Drugs will now be $4.00 for a months supply, and they plan to spread this to all their Walmart stores, the following evenings news reported that Target is jumping on this bandwagon also...however details of their plan was not mentioned.