I received an advertisement in the mail today from RX Processing, Inc., in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Don't know how they got my name and address, probably wasn't too difficult, being on Medicare. The company name is Global Pharmacy Canada. They offered prescription drugs at greatly reduced prices, e.g., Lipitor, 10mg, 90 pills, $69.00, price in USA, $238.00. Plavix, 75 mg, 90 pills, $82.00, price in USA, $430.00. Viagra, 100mg, 20 pills, $65.00, price in USA, $375.00, and so on. Send them a copy of the prescription, or photo of the prescription bottle label, and the drugs will arrive by mail within 2 weeks. Slight problem with this.

Presently, it is illegal to use imported drugs from Canada, as they are not FDA approved. Also, these are generic drugs.....manufactured in drug labs in INDIA.

I have no intention of accepting their offer, but my question is...who here thinks this would be beneficial in reducing individual's drug costs, who would do it, and would it be safe? I do not believe it is. Would you take a generic drug manufactured in a lab in India, of unknown purity, and is also not controlled by the Canadian FDA?

A lot and they are approved by the FDA and sold in your local Pharmacy.

I can't comment about this particular company, but I know a lot or senior citizens that are getting prescriptions filled in Canada without any problems,  The Canadian government has an agency that oversees drug safety.  Often new drugs are approved for use in Canada before the US.  Also because of different patent laws generic versions of drugs may be available in Canada before the US.  

Same thing happened on my plan w/Lipitor. I switched a few years ago to Simvastatin, but I went from 20mg on Lipitor to 80mg w/Simvastatin. My cholesterol was 150 on Lipitor, but went to 190 on Simvastatin. My doc supplemented Simvastatin with fish oil and naicin, and it seems to work. Plus I exercise daily.

You should be getting your generics at $6 per month.

I would think Canadian drugs can make it across the border even easier.  Manufacturer in India is probably better than intestinally smuggled.  But that's only speculation.  

Having said that, the weak part isn't India, but Canadian FDA.  Put the word Canadian in front of anything and it sounds second rate.

Many people from border areas travel there to get them.  I have heard that some drugs from Canada don't work as well as the US made versions.  Lipitor has only just gone generic so I doubt it has been available in generic form.  When my medical plan changed and  Lipitor became more expensive I switched to generic Zocor (Simvastatin).  It's not as effective so my doc doubled the dose from 20 mgs. to 40 mgs.  My cholesteral went down and no side effects.  Cost = $12 per month.  I also switched to generic Lisinopril for high BP.  Cost = $12 per month.  Neither, however, is Canadian.  But my point is you don't necessarily have to switch to Canadian drugs to solve your problem.

I'm on Oxford and that's the best they can do.  Re Lipitor, when I was on 20 mg. my cholesterol was about 180, but on 40 mg of Simvastatin it went down to 160.  I also take fish oil but am allergic to niacin.  I work out 4-5 days a week, inlcuding cardio for 40-60 minutes.