: COST OF DRUGS - APPALLING

> Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 10:23 AM
> Subject: COST OF DRUGS - APPALLING
>
>
> > The following is incredible. Make sure to keep reading to the bottom
> where
> > it discusses Costco, Sam's Club, etc.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > The women who wrote this email and signed below are Federal Budget
> > Analysts in Washington, DC.
> >
> > 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
> > past issues of "Life Extension," a significant percentage of drugs sold
> in
> > the United State 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 chart 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%
> >
> > Norvasec 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): $10237
> > 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%
> >
> > Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought
everyone
> > I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass it
on.
> > It pays to shop around. 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
> > equiva-lent, 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, Sam's Club and other discount volume stores
> > consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I
> went
> > to the discount store's 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, Comparing, 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 another discount store for $28.08. I
> > would like to mention, that although these are 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.
> >
> >
> > Sharon L. Davis, Budget Analyst, US Department of Commerce Room 6839
> > Office Ph: 202-482-4458; Office Fax: 202-482-5480 Email Address:
> > sdavis@docgov
> >
> > Mary Palmer, Budget Analyst, Bureau of Economic Analysis Office of
> > Budget &Finance; Voice: (202) 606-9295
> >