# Buying diabetes medicines and supplies for less **URL:** \ **Category:** wiki\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/buying-diabetes-medicines-and-supplies-for-less/1232 "2017-06-13T06:57:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/buying-diabetes-medicines-and-supplies-for-less/1232/1 "2017-06-13T06:57:55Z")
Here are some valuable threads that discuss, in one way or another, the price of insulin and diabetes medicines, and possible ways to obtain diabetes medicines and supplies for less: **Importing insulin and diabetes drugs from Canada** > [@Canada insulin: price comparisons](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/canada-insulin-price-comparisons/1136): > > The SCOTUS Lexmark decision on 05/30/2017 appears to make import of FDA-approved drugs legal [under certain conditions that are still a bit unclear](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/consequences-of-scotus-lexmark-decision-on-parallel-drug-imports-exclusive-interview-with-professor-abbott/1116/). On that basis, we started researching sources and costs for Canadian insulin. This is what we found, with numbers we looked up over the past few days: [image] What I would choose If I had to choose, I would buy Basaglar for basal, and Novolog pens or vials, both from Mark’s Marine Pharmacy. Mark’s Marine Pharmacy is a brick-and-mortar pharmacy i… > [@Online Canadian Pharmacy: CanadaDrugs.com](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/online-canadian-pharmacy-canadadrugs-com/1100): > > I have used [CanadaDrugs.com](http://CanadaDrugs.com) several times. A+ from me. Cheap, reliable, easy to use. [https://www.canadadrugs.com/](https://www.canadadrugs.com/) > [@Insulin from Canada: PharmacyChecker](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/insulin-from-canada-pharmacychecker/1092): > > I found this site today. I was comparing prices on insulin. There are so many ways to get insulin cheaper from Canada. Like 1/4 of the cost!!! But sometimes they don’t ship insulin because the cost of keeping it cold is expensive. This site will give you the name of reputable pharmacies that ship a particular medicine you are looking for. Just put in the name of the insulin and it will give you the names of the online pharmacies. [https://www.pharmacychecker.com/](https://www.pharmacychecker.com/) And it gives you names of pla… > [@Online Canadian Pharmacy: Mark's Marine Pharmacy RXCanada4Less.com](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/online-canadian-pharmacy-marks-marine-pharmacy-rxcanada4less-com/1101/): > > Marks Marine Pharmacy is also a great place. Family-owned kinda feeling. I really like them. Cheaper insulin than you can get in the U.S., NovoLog and Humalog are about 1/6 to 1/10 of the cost! (Lantus is about 1/4) Another A+. Here is their website: [https://rxcanada4less.com/](https://rxcanada4less.com/) > [@Online Canadian Pharmacy: Canadian Insulin Connection](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/online-canadian-pharmacy-canadian-insulin-connection/1135): > > URL: [http://canadainsulinconnection.com/products.php?drug=INSULIN](http://canadainsulinconnection.com/products.php?drug=INSULIN) As of 06/02/2017 Basaglar, 5x pens -\> Not Available Lantus, 5x pen -\>$178 for 5 3x Lantus, 5x pen -\>$160 for 5 Lantus vial -\>$130 3x Lantus vial -\>$110 Novolog, 5x cartridges -\> $125 for 5 3x Novolog, 5x cartridges -\>$99 for 5 Novolog vial -\> $78 3x Novolog vial -\>$57 This is not an endorsement or a suggestion you should buy anything from them slight_smile > [@Online Canadian Pharmacy: DiscountRxMart.com](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/online-canadian-pharmacy-discountrxmart-com/1103): > > Their URL: [http://www.discountrxmart.com/pricelist.php?search=insulin](http://www.discountrxmart.com/pricelist.php?search=insulin) No Basaglar Lantus pens 5x -\> $178 per 5 3x Lantus pens 5x -\> $160 per 5 1x Lantus vial -\>$130 3x Lantus vial -\>$110 Novolog [Novorapid] vial -\> $78 3x Novolog [Novorapid] vial -\> $56 Novolog [Novorapid] cartridges 5x -\> $118 per 5 3x Novolog [Novorapid] cartridges 5x -\> $99 per 5 This is not an endorsement or a suggestion you should buy anything from them slight_smile > [@Online Canadian Pharmacy: CanadianInsulin.com](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/online-canadian-pharmacy-canadianinsulin-com/1102/): > > Their URL: [https://www.canadianinsulin.com/](https://www.canadianinsulin.com/) As of 4/28/2017 No Basaglar Lantus 5x pens -\> $187 per 5 3x lantus 5x pens -\>$162 per 5 Lantus vial -\> $141 3x lantus vial -\> $99 Novolog 5x pens -\> $137 per 5 3x Novolog 5x pens -\> $112 per 5 Novolog cartridges 5x -\> $132 per 5 3x Novolog cartridges 5x -\> $107 per 5 Novolog vial -\> $80 3x Novolog vial -\> $57 This is not an endorsement or a suggestion you should buy anything from them slight_smile **Is it legal to import insulin and diabetes drugs?** > [@Foreign drug import is now legal: SCOTUS decision](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/foreign-drug-import-is-now-legal-scotus-decision/1112/): > > Today’s new Supreme Court decision on foreign patent rights appears to makes it legal to import drugs that are FDA-approved from lower-priced markets into the US. In Impression Products vs Lexmark, the Supreme Court just ruled that patent rights are exhausted when a patent holder sells a product abroad, meaning that they cannot stop the product from being imported into a third country by claiming it violates patent rights. This is a MAJOR shift, that may have momentous consequences on the pric… > [@Foreign drug import is now legal: discussion thread](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/foreign-drug-import-is-now-legal-discussion-thread/1093/): > > Today’s new Supreme Court decision on foreign patent rights appears to makes it legal to import drugs that are FDA-approved from lower-priced markets into the US. In Impression Products vs Lexmark, the Supreme Court just ruled that patent rights are exhausted when a patent holder sells a product abroad, meaning that they cannot stop the product from being imported into a third country by claiming it violates patent rights. This is a MAJOR shift, that may have momentous consequences on the pric… > [@Consequences of SCOTUS Lexmark decision on parallel drug imports: exclusive interview with Professor Abbott](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/consequences-of-scotus-lexmark-decision-on-parallel-drug-imports-exclusive-interview-with-professor-abbott/1116): > > On May 30, 2017, in Impression Products vs. Lexmark, the Supreme Court reversed a Federal Circuit decision over the right by Lexmark to stop the import of refurbished Lexmark printer cartridges into the US. The Court ruled, through the opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that, regardless of where the sale occurs (in the US or abroad), the seller gives up all patent rights when the sale occurs, even if the buyer agrees not to resell the product to anyone else. This decision is of mino… > [@Importing insulin: Analysis by Erica Lietzan](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/importing-insulin-analysis-by-erica-lietzan/1177): > > Erika Lietzan is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law. She is an expert in drug and device regulation, the FDA, and intellectual property. We have been in contact with her over the past week. She just published a very significant analysis of the Impression Products vs. Lexmark SCOTUS decision, specifically focused on pharmaceuticals. Her conclusions do not give much hope to the legality of immediate import, although they do leave a narrow door open. They confi… **If you are desperate: cheapest insulin and supplies in the US** > [@EMERGENCY: Cheapest insulin and diabetes supplies](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/emergency-cheapest-insulin-and-diabetes-supplies/989): > > What do you do when you can’t afford your expensive analogue insulin this month? The [horrifying story of Shane Boyle](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/rip-shane-boyle-dka-could-not-afford-insulin/985) made me wonder what the cheapest diabetes supplies for a month would be – I mean rock-bottom, what you would do if you had no other way to stay alive (beyond asking for charity). This is what I found (no prescription required for any of it, except in one state,Indiana): vial of NPH, for 2x day injection, no prescription required, $25/ vial (Walmart) - maybe 2x per month? v… **Why it is expensive: how diabetes drugs are priced in the US** > [@How drug prices work: a must-read](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/how-drug-prices-work-a-must-read/1054/): > > This remarkable article is what got me to understand for the first time how drug pricing works: [http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/581baa99691e888d008b47cb-960/bi-graphics-big%20pharma%20v03.png](http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/581baa99691e888d008b47cb-960/bi-graphics-big%20pharma%20v03.png) courtesy - Business Insider \
The consequence, for people with diabetes, is this: Because of the extraordinary public dissatisfaction with drug prices, for the first time some drug makers are now starting to share their net prices rather than their list prices. But, as… > [@The rising price of insulin: a shocking historical record](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/the-rising-price-of-insulin-a-shocking-historical-record/1055/): > > Business Insider has done a truly great job at covering health cost issues lately. They have published many articles on insulin, several of which have carried a historical record of insulin prices. The curve is truly shocking, pin particular when you consider that these drugs are many years old, with R&D costs paid off many times over. Here is the latest article and record: [http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5919e239e559f1bc588b4dfe-1200/insulin-prices-may-2017-v2.png](http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5919e239e559f1bc588b4dfe-1200/insulin-prices-may-2017-v2.png) … > [@When insulin makers change prices together, is that collusion?](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/when-insulin-makers-change-prices-together-is-that-collusion/1057/): > > Insulin prices have something remarkable in common across all manufacturers: they almost always change together. Is that collusion? This article, again from Business Insider, discusses the how and the why: Hard to believe it’s a coincidence, eh? Look at this: [http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57da97d8077dcc21008b5fd4-1200/insulin-prices-lantus-levemir-v2.png](http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57da97d8077dcc21008b5fd4-1200/insulin-prices-lantus-levemir-v2.png) Courtesy Business Insider > [@The games some drugmakers play](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/the-games-some-drugmakers-play/1056): > > We often talk about how the price of some drugs increases every year to unsustainable levels. In some cases, what starts the price spiral is a gaming strategy: Have a look at what happens to this drug price and when: [http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58d179f4112f70e0018b5c20-1011/screen%20shot%202017-03-21%20at%2030633%20pm.png](http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58d179f4112f70e0018b5c20-1011/screen%20shot%202017-03-21%20at%2030633%20pm.png) courtesy Business Insider > [@Drug prices: FDA considers encouraging generics](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/drug-prices-fda-considers-encouraging-generics/1173): > > The FDA head says he is looking into what we can do to encourage competition from generics: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-05/drug-prices-become-target-for-fda-as-chief-expands-agency-s-view](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-05/drug-prices-become-target-for-fda-as-chief-expands-agency-s-view) A few nuggets I found that I thought were of interest: The first generic drug that hits the market will “only slightly lower” the price compared to the brand, according to an FDA analysis. A second generic competitor approved will slash the price to almost half that of the brand version … * * * * * * * * * _End of wiki post ---------- Comments start here._ ---
**Author:** ![Michel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/michel/32/387_2.png) [@Michel](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Michel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/buying-diabetes-medicines-and-supplies-for-less/1232/2 "2017-06-13T07:02:37Z")
@kelsploz, above is a quick list of all the threads I know of that may be useful.