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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently detained more than 400 packages containing prescription drug products at the Miami mail facility. FDA reviewed a list of the drugs contained in these packages and observed that about half of the drugs were foreign generic drugs or drugs for which there were generic versions available in the United States.
The detained packages were apparently being sent to U.S. addresses from a source in the Bahamas by a Canadian pharmacy, Kohler's Drugstore of Hamilton, Ontario, which recently set up an internet operation (www.canadarx.net) to do business with American consumers.
FDA analyzed the prices actually charged on customer invoices for a sample of the detained foreign generic medications encountered in the shipments. FDA converted the price paid to U.S. dollars and checked the prices at four U.S. pharmacies. In every instance, a U.S pharmacy price for the FDA-approved generic drug was less than what consumers had paid for the foreign generic drug ordered from Kohler's Drugstore in Canada. The following chart shows these findings.
| U.S./Canadian Price Comparisons | ||||
| Drug (strength and amount) | Medical Use | Price paid by patient from CanadaRX in USD* | CanaRX* | U.S. Pharmacy Price** |
| Amiodarone 200mg (100) | Rapid Heart Beat | $116.97 | $134.90 | $41.89 |
| Verapamil SR 240mg (100) | High Blood Pressure | $83.90 | $93.95 | $43.97 |
| Lisinopril 20mg (100) | High Blood Pressure | $83.59 | $97.90 | $16.19 |
| Lisinopril 5mg (100) | High Blood Pressure | $47.96 | $67.90 | $13.99 |
| Terazosin 2mg (100) | High Blood Pressure, Prostate | $43.98 | $52.90 | $17.09 |
| Digitek 0.25mg (250) | Heart Medication | $51.30 | N/A | $29.47 |
| Diltiazem CD 240mg (100) | High Blood Pressure | $139.75 | $145.00 | $127.99 |
| Hydrochlorothiazide 25mg (100) | High Blood Pressure | $12.73 | N/A | $6.29 |
| Warfarin 5mg (100) | Prevention of Blood Clotting | $18.60 | $24.90 | $20.69 |
| Aricept 10mg (30) | Alzheimer's treatment | $128.65 | $147.96 | $140.69 |
*Shipping charges by Canadian pharmacies not included, but range from $15-$30.
**Based on prices available on Oct. 4
and 5, 2004.