Report from Dept of Commerce re: drug price markups!

If you read through to the end you'll see this was also confirmed by SNOPES.

Yes there are additional costs that are always figured into the total cost of a product, such as packaging, depreciation, labor, ect, BUT it's nowhere NEAR THAT MUCH!

Make sure you read to the end. You will be amazed.


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 below is 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 .

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%


Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone should know about this.
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 prices gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. 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.< /SPAN>

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 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 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.

I am asking each of you 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. 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 <mailto:sdavis@doc.gov>


http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/generic.asp

of antibiotic for an abscessed tooth...at Walmart...and without insurance...I had to charge it to a credit card...god I wish there was a Costco here...

On edit...I went to Costco.com and the prescription there was only $24.95...my god we're getting screwed...but thanks for the link and info again!
:yourock:

from Costco. You need to go back to that site and check. Although, with an antibiotic, you probably couldn't wait for the mail time. If you get any other prescriptions you can wait for, it might pay you to check there.

The other thing I heard on one of the consumer activist radio shows was that Sams prescription prices were similar. Do you have a Sams near you?

Costco also pays its employees far better than do the other big box stores.

The other thing that always impresses me is when ever I see the founder of Costco being interviewed. He's a very down to earth guy who doesn't visit his stores in a suit & tie, but regular clothes, and most of the time, he grabs an apron or jacket and joins the other employees in their job. Last time I saw him, he said "I don't believe that I NEEd millions and millions for myself. I make a nice salary and I don't NEED more than that." OH God, do I wish there were more like HIM!

Everyone should see this.

I`ve been a Costco believer since they first came to MI.

but that maybe changing soon. He's retiring in Oct. so I'll be checking closely with the deals through whatever ins. we chose and Costco prices.

I just HOPE this info hits the MSM! Maybe we FINALLY found out just who the greedy b'tds are!

allot of cash considering how many medications my mother is on. We have been using different places for different prescriptions to get the best deal and we never knew that Costco even had a pharmacy.

Thank you very much for this post, I hope it stays around so everyone gets a chance to see it!

Fortunately we have one in West Houston. There are only TWO Costcos in Houston.

We even have an Ikea two or three exits away.


I have a membership. Love their chocolate covered almond clusters!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3250068&mesg_id=3250068 for links to formularies at those 3 stores.

You have to go to the store in person to get your meds, though, as IMO these plans are designed to buy regular foot-traffic through aisles of non-pharmacy items.

pay up, be miserable or die.

Thank you for this thread, and this research link!

Mind-boggling!!!

You know - there's making a profit and then there's absolute PIRACY.

:grr: :mad: