Time for a short rant on a topic that consistently bugs me, and brought to mind by the tardy unpacking of goodies from my US trip: the relative cost of common drugs in the UK and America.

Take the common anti-inflammatory (NSAID) painkiller Ibuprofen.  Consider the various ways a UK consumer can buy the standard 200mg tablet (price per tablet in UK pennies, 100 pennies = £1):

High street branded Nurofen  (16) 15p

High street branded Nurofen (96)  11p

High street retailer’s own brand (Boots Ltd) (16) 6.2p

High street retailer’s own brand (Boots Ltd) (96) 6.2p

UK internet vendor (e.g.Chemist4u) (16) 3.7p

UK internet vendor (e.g.Chemist4u) (96) 2.2p

US internet vendor selling into UK (e.g. International Drugstore) in £ (500) 1.8p

US high street price at £1=$1.5) 1.7p

That’s a price range of nearly 900% for the same thing !     What are the messages – several:

1. For best value, a UK customer should buy ibuprofen  from a US internet retailer selling into the UK at the prevailing exchange rate (example International Drugstore)

2. On the same shelf, branded product carries a 240% mark-up.  That’s one expensive glossy box – you better buy into the placebo effect.

3. Boots do not give any volume discount (I suspect they have a special bean-counter dedicated to avoiding this on many of their products)

4. With the exchange rate shift, there is no longer any significant advantage (£0.01)  to physically buying this product in the US and bringing it to the UK (for example on your holidays)

5. Again, with the latest exchange rate moves, my premise that drugs are cheaper in the US is only now true – at least for ibuprofen – for the highstreet; internet prices are similar.

Take the above for what it is – half an hour’s research.  But you don’t need ten decimal places or to be a procurement professional to see what’s going on.

 

Update 29/6/11

May also be of interest: Generic drug ruling leaves out consumers (L.A.Times)