DRUG PRICES AND RIP OFFS

[Guest guest]

This article is informative but, should be checked for accuracyas with all e-mails of this type. >>>>COSTCO! read this...>>Let's hear it for Costco!! (This is just mind-boggling!) Make sure you>read all the way past the list of the drugs. The woman that signed belowis>a Budget Analyst out of federal Washington, DC offices.>>>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 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: 1 0 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 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:/B 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>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 , 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 ifyou 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. 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 site, 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 nauseain 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 Costcofor $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. I am asking each ofyou to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own>e-mail, and send it to everyone you know with an e-mail address.>>> Sharon L. > Budget Analyst> U.S . Department of Commerce> Room 6839> Office Ph: > Office Fax: > E-mail Address: sdavis@...

Regards, Vergelsalvagetherapies dot org

[Guest guest]

ce the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone>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 , 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.This seems to be an authentic email.   The original story did appear on the stated TV station, however, the list of drugs and the cost of ingredients was added later, and the source is unknown.  Source: Snopes.comWhatever the mark ups are on drugs, the "cost of ingredients" is a not a reasonable way to analyse this.   Is the cost of a computer's silicon chips based on the price of beach sand?  Does the cost of a car reflect a bit more than the raw amount of ore for steel and a few barrells of oil for the plastics?   The human body is, reduced to chemicals on the shelf, worth only a few bucks. Barrowpozbod@...

[Guest guest]

ce the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone>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 , 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.This seems to be an authentic email.   The original story did appear on the stated TV station, however, the list of drugs and the cost of ingredients was added later, and the source is unknown.  Source: Snopes.comWhatever the mark ups are on drugs, the "cost of ingredients" is a not a reasonable way to analyse this.   Is the cost of a computer's silicon chips based on the price of beach sand?  Does the cost of a car reflect a bit more than the raw amount of ore for steel and a few barrells of oil for the plastics?   The human body is, reduced to chemicals on the shelf, worth only a few bucks. Barrowpozbod@...