Study confirms high cost of U_S_ drugs

Patients who purchase statin medications from U.S. drugstores rather through Canadian internet pharmacies likely spend far more than they have to, as a new study has confirmed that drug costs are substantially higher in the U.S.

Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine and the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program looked at 2005 drug costs for 250,000 people in both the U.S. and UK who were taking statin medications like Lipitor. The results showed that costs in the U.S. were 400 times higher during this period.

The team pointed out that the availability of generic medications plays a major role in costs. A generic version of simvastatin became available in the U.S. in 2006, after the study period, which likely lowered costs. However, with many other statins still under patent, they say that costs likely remain significantly higher in the U.S.

"In addition to differences in overall statin use and per unit costs, another significant factor contributing to the disparity of costs appears to be the availability and utilization of generics," said Hershel Jick, who led the investigation.