PharmacyChecker.com Checks Overseas Pharmacies to Help Protect U.S. Consumers
WHITE PLAINS, NY — Wednesday, July 21, 2004 —Several Canadian online/mail-order pharmacies with PharmacyChecker.com's highest rating have begun filling orders through overseas suppliers. Among these is a pharmacy endorsed by the government of Minnesota, CrossborderPharmacy.com. Others include CanadaMeds.com, AmericanDrugClub.com and JanDrugs.com. As part of its due diligence, PharmacyChecker.com reported today that it has verified the overseas sources of these drugs as licensed pharmacies operating in Australia, Chile, Israel, New Zealand, and UK.
Canadian pharmacies are looking overseas to meet demand as supply restrictions imposed by drug companies such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline make it hard for them to serve U.S. clients. As a result of working with overseas pharmacies, Canadian pharmacies are able to continue to offer drugs made by these companies and, in many cases, at even lower prices than before.
Price comparisons on PharmacyChecker.com show that one Canadian pharmacy, for example, offers Lipitor (20mg - 90 tabs) for $167.08 sent from a licensed pharmacy in New Zealand. The lowest cost option for this same drug from a Canadian pharmacy is $180.86, and from a U.S. online pharmacy, $275.97. The cost at local U.S. pharmacies is typically well over $300. Even with the new Medicare discount drug card program, the best price in the New York City area is $270.08.
"Canadian pharmacies continue to be a source of low-cost and safe drugs for Americans. Some have now evolved into conduits for Americans to access drugs at low prices from other countries," said Gabriel Levitt, Vice President for Research at PharmacyChecker.com. He cautioned, "While consumers can further their savings by taking advantage of worldwide access through Canada, they should only do so if they know that the source of the medication is a licensed pharmacy." To protect consumers, PharmacyChecker.com is checking the suppliers to make sure they're licensed in their own countries. Andy Schinke, Vice President of MedicationsCanada.com, a top-rated Canadian pharmacy considering overseas sources said, "As a trusted non-industry, third party, many Canadian pharmacies look to PharmacyChecker.com to validate them in the eyes of consumers."
PharmacyChecker.com now provides evaluations of 43 online/mail order pharmacies, 33 of them Canadian, 8 U.S. and 2 Mexican. Those with its highest rating may bear the PharmacyChecker.com highest rating seal. PharmacyChecker.com's information is available for free to consumers. Visitors on www.pharmacychecker.com can check pharmacies and compare prices on over 1000 brand name and generic drugs.
PharmacyChecker.com is privately held and based in White Plains, New York. It has no ownership in or from companies that sell or distribute pharmacy products. Its ratings and price comparisons are available online at www.pharmacychecker.com. Its ratings will also be published in paperback this September in PharmacyChecker.com Guide to Low-Cost Canadian and U.S. Pharmacies. The guidebook can be pre-ordered from 800-431-1579. PharmacyChecker.com also publishes business-level reports that provide price trends and analyses on Canadian and U.S. pharmacies. To order a PriceTracker report, contact Gabriel Levitt, at gabriel.levitt@pharmacychecker.com (718) 387-4526.
