Canada Generic HIV Meds?

[gregftl]

Was wondering if anyone on the boards gets their HIV meds thru Canada as generic? And if so what is your experience with the meds and the ordering process online. The reason I'm asking is next month I'm probably going to be losing out on my ADAP egligibility due to my income. Yet i cant afford 1200/month to pay for combivir and viramune. I found a site online with good reviews where i can get both drugs for 220/month. And I know it's legal to transport up to 3 months of prescription medications from Canada as long as u have a prescription for it. So I'm in the middle of the order process and just waiting for my doctor to fax the canada website my prescriptions. The site is candrugstore.com. Sorry if i'm now allowed to post websites but I wanted people to take a look and tell me what they think. Just wanting some feedback and thoughts on what I'm doing. I really have no choice. I dont qualify either for the drug companies patient assistance programs.

Greg

[Joe K]

Hey Greg,

Have you explored using Ryan White funds for your HIV meds?  Both Michigan and Florida, allowed me to use Ryan White for drugs, even though I did not qualify for ADAP.

edited to add: I checked the website and the prices just don't seem like they can be real, or the source of the drugs may be suspect.  My Viramune, through Quebec is valued at $179.00 CAN each month and that is for the patented drug, not a generic.  If you want to try them, you should find a lab that could test the meds and tell you what they really are.

[gregftl]

Yah i used to get my drugs thru Ryan White but they cut their budget down here in Florida and no longer allow people over income to be put into Ryan White to get their meds. It's ADAP or nothing.  And yah the prices seem unreal but i've checked a ton of different Canada websites and the prices are just about the same or a bit more. I asked my doctor about 8 months ago if i were every to get denied my meds thru the state programs if they would let me do generic thru Canada....and he said yes. He also said the generics are just as good as the brand. Plus I notice my brand name Combivir is manufactured in the UK and my boyfriend's hiv brand name meds (kaletra and truvada) are manufactured in Germany so it's not like getting drugs from overseas is a new thing. Even the brand names ones are made out of the country. Plus the generics are what we give the people in Africa thru our aid relief programs. The site got good reviews. The is a site www.pharmacychecker.com/onlinepharmacyratings.asp

Update: I just got off the phone with candrugstore and my doctor approved my prescription. The company that makes the generics is called Cipla, cipla.com,  and they are based in India. I only ordered 1 month just to see how long it takes to get and what they look like when i get them. Takes 2 weeks for delivery.

Greg

[mecch]

Maybe I am mistaken, but I don't think Canada produces any "generic" HIV drugs. They respect the same patents as the USA.
So that drug store is supplying you with drugs produced in India.
Search that topic here in the forums, it has been addressed before.
Just dont want you thinking you are going to get "canadian" HAART for 220 bucks a month.

[gregftl]

Yah I know that. Re-read my last message under the "update" part Ii know they are in India the girl that processed my order at candrugstore said that my generics are made in India by a company named Cipla. They have a site at cipla.com. But even brand names are sometimes made outside the US even though the company is based in the US. Who cares as long as they work

Here is some info on the company, Cipla that makes the generics from wikipedia. The company is approved by both the World Health Organization and by the FDA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipla

[randym431]

This breaks my heart hearing folks in the USA have to fight for meds due to costs.
Totally unacceptable.
If you have time, and haven't already, write your senators and maybe a few letters to the editor
of your local newspaper. I don't want to ask what your income is... But just because they think you have $1200 extra a month to spend on meds is ridiculous. Like one doesn't need food and housing too.
I truly hope the Canada meds work out for you. No doubt, if the republicans get their way and kill reform, Canada meds will come to a halt soon after.
And they say America has the best healthcare in the world.... Right...   
(hope Im not out of line) Take care. We're listening.

[gregftl]

Yah I was wondering if health care reform is passed and it's universal ....and they have to take people with pre-exisiting conditions.............would they do away with ryan white and adap programs I wonder? I, for one, would gladly pay for health insurance if i could get it instead of going in every 6months to the county health department and practically have to beg them for my life. That's ok I'll be getting my meds from Canada soon. So that at least gives me peace. I've read nothing but good reviews on the company that makes my meds (Cipla) The fact the WHO approves of them is big for me.

[GodSon83]

yeah, very sad this happen in USA.

I hope all poz folks, have free drugs.
 
i think in Mexico, are free.

but well, not for sure.

Im no in therapy stil.

But we need to do our best.
In each country, to make us a better world,
with or with out HIv,

for all aour communitie.

Hugs.

[gregftl]

Well I went ahead and placed my order for my generic combivir and viramune from candrugstore.com. They are made by Cipla. Candrugstore requires a prescription from my doctor and they called him and my doc approved it and even gave me 5 refills on it. I called my doctor just to confirm candrugstore actually called him and spoke with him and he said they did. I should be getting the meds in a couple of weeks. Wish me luck on them. Cipla is supposed to be a very good drug company. My doc attends alot of conferences around the world on AIDS research and he absolutely said he has heard good things about Cipla and had no objections in regards to me taking their generics.

Greg

[LatinAlexander]

The following post is not intended to promote any particular prescription practice. Always ask your doctor.

Now, that have been said, in my country, the global health care system cannot afford brand meds. So I have been taking cipla products for more than a year (Efavirenz+Combivir), and they have worked as a  charm. (I have been on therapy for 3 years now)

Alex

[gregftl]

Hey latinalexander, the cipla version of combivir is called duovir isnt it?

greg

[LatinAlexander]

hi Greg:

Yes mine is called cipladuovir , manufactured by CIPLA LTD, Mumbai Center Mumbai 400 008 India.

[Sweet_C]

This is great information.  Thanks for posting.  I'm in the U.S. and both me and my hubby and I currently have insurance, but with the economy the way it is we definitely want a plan B we can count on. 

I've been following the progress of the health care reform here, and though it seems promising that everyone will have insurance, it is looking more and more like the drugs we need will still be sky high.  The Eshoo Amendment will apparently be a part of the health care bill, and that allows the pharmaceutical companies the right to keep the patents on these drugs pretty much forever.  We are both looking at starting our own businesses in the future, so even if we have some sort of individual insurance, it will likely have a 20% copay and that could be out of our reach.

It really makes me mad that these drug companies are able to charge these exorbitant prices for these drugs.  I would be in support of them having some sort of extended patent to encourage them to find new drugs, but the "evergreening" provision to me is ridiculous.

[Assurbanipal]

This is great information.  Thanks for posting.  I'm in the U.S. and both me and my hubby and I currently have insurance, but with the economy the way it is we definitely want a plan B we can count on. 

I've been following the progress of the health care reform here, and though it seems promising that everyone will have insurance, it is looking more and more like the drugs we need will still be sky high.  The Eshoo Amendment will apparently be a part of the health care bill, and that allows the pharmaceutical companies the right to keep the patents on these drugs pretty much forever.  We are both looking at starting our own businesses in the future, so even if we have some sort of individual insurance, it will likely have a 20% copay and that could be out of our reach.

It really makes me mad that these drug companies are able to charge these exorbitant prices for these drugs.  I would be in support of them having some sort of extended patent to encourage them to find new drugs, but the "evergreening" provision to me is ridiculous.

Note, a lot of current drugs will go generic in the next few years.  I posted a list over here  http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=29596.msg363353#msg363353

And the Eshoo amendment is actually progress compared to current law.  It does not change the process of drugs becoming generic for the drugs we use for HIV today.  Instead it goes about setting up a process for biologics.  Biologics are different from drugs -- they are derived from living cells, rather than by putting together chemicals.  Under current law, the FDA has no easy way for companies who manufacture similar biologics to get approval for their use based on the testing that applied to the original biologic.  Instead the similar biologic has to go all the way through the (expensive) process of proving the treatment safe and effective from scratch.  The Eshoo amendment sets up a process for approval of biosimilar drugs that rely on the testing done by the original biologic -- similar to the generic approval process for drugs.  There was some fighting back and forth over how long the original biologic should get exclusive rights, and the Eshoo amendment has a relatively long period of 12 years versus other proposals of  5 years (Waxman) or 7 years (Obama Administration).  But 12 years is still  a big improvement over the current law.

[Sweet_C]

Great information.  Thanks!