My Experience Buying Mesalamine from "Canada"

I'm a US citizen/resident. Due to health insurance changes (employer switched to HDHP/HSA requiring I use Expressscripts which charges $6.89*180 = $1240/3mos instead of my old $40/3mos copay), I have been pushed into buying mesalamine from "Canadian drug referral services." Both my USA GI and my GP doctors are each advertising some of these services in their offices, right out in the open, not hidden at all. And I checked 3-4 different services to find the one that had the cheaper price.

I'm particularly concerned about getting safe, noncounterfeit, government-regulated/inspected/approved drugs from a website that isn't going to steal my identity.

The place I went with was recommended by my GI (he says he uses it personally) and it's approved by something called PharmacyChecker.com, though I don't know how much faith to put in *them,* PharmacyChecker says it's run by US doctors and seems legit enough.

I had my GI fax over my prescription to the pharmacy referral service, paid my $188 with my Amex (only card they accept) and a few weeks later I have my 200 'generic Lialda' show up on my doorstep.

The first thing I noticed was that the package had no return address, and it had a German postal service postmark. So I'm guessing this medication has never set foot in Canada and was probably mailed directly from India to my doorstep. I know this pharmacy-referral service does not want me to cut out the middleman and go directly to the pharmacy, but it's still a little weird having no return address at all.

Next, I noticed the drug was called "Mesacol" from Sun Pharmaceuticals, manufactured in India, and it came in blister packs in boxes. At first I was concerned about it coming from India, but then I did a little research into my US-supplied Zydus mesalamine, and they don't say at all where it's manufactured, and Zydus is an Indian company. So that's probably made in India as well, they just don't tell you.

The blister packs look more or less legitimate, they all have British spellings on them (e.g. "colour") and a lot of the text lacks proper capitalization. (Is that worrisome or indicative of a counterfeit? Or is that just the way some international meds are?) The pills look similar in shape, size, and color to my previous Zydus generic, and to the brandname Lialda before that. Unlike the Zydus generic, but just like the brandname Lialda, the coating does not get slippery when wet. There is no number or letter stamped on the pills from "Canada." The blister packs have lot numbers and such stamped on them.

By all accounts Sun Pharmaceuticals is a legitimate manufacturer that sells a lot of drugs to the USA. However their website doesn't have a page "This is what Mesacol 1200 should look like", just a listing that they do make this drug (http://www.sunpharma.com/indiaproducts/)while Zydus http://www.zydususa.com/product-details/?id=307 does have such a page.

The pharmacy-referral services says I can call a Canadian pharmacist for counseling. I will do this and let you all know how that goes.

Post Edited (UCinGV) : 2/25/2019 8:35:46 AM (GMT-7)

I did a google image search on "Mesacol Sun Pharmaceuticals" and could see the blister packs and pills without numbers, as you described. If yours look consistent with those then I would take them. I'd try them with an open mind, and watch your symptoms. Part of the reason of those meds being more affordable is their global sourcing.

Brandnames, like mezavant (the canadian name for lialda) should be available for ordering too, if you'd prefer those over the generics.

Even though I have insurance covering my RX I found that NOT using my insurance to purchase my RX meds in the US costs less. I instead have the pharmacy use a goodrx coupon and my Balsalazide which cost $300/month in the past suddenly costs $100 with the coupon.

Just ridiculous that using my high cost insurance ends up costing more money and why? Because insurers are hand in glove with manufacturers and people paying high insurance premiums end up paying high pharmacy expense too.

I have ordered mesalamine supps from Canada with no problem and partner has ordered CA RX with no problem. Just wanted to alert the OP to look into various "coupons" available. GoodRX is not the only one available but for my meds has proven lowest cost.

edit to add: insult added to injury is that your pharmacist is forbidden by law to tell you how you may be able to get your RX at a lower cost. Forbidden by law!!

ima said...
edit to add: insult added to injury is that your pharmacist is forbidden by law to tell you how you may be able to get your RX at a lower cost. Forbidden by law!!

There are a lot of pharmacists who get around this regulation by always first asking "do you want that in generic?"

Within the USA your cheapest options are sulfasalazine ($17.00 a mont) and basalaside disodium ($105.00 a month):
https://www.goodrx.com/aminosalicylates

Much, much cheaper than the brandnamed mesalamines. So there are affordable options here, as well, if you are leery about ordering from overseas pharmacies.

Well insurance increases copays and deductibles on medications to cut costs and discourage our behavior of filling specific medications through that insurance plan. When we buy less medicine (or don;t buy medicine at all) through that plan it only encourages those administering that plan to be more aggressive in increasing plan copays and deductibles. They're for profit.

C_G_K said...
I'm a Canadian living in the U.S. and I've ordered meds from Canada often, mainly because I prefer formulations of mesalamine that are not available in the States. Occasionally they get sourced from the U.K or Germany. I've never had a problem with any med I have ever obtained in that way. Of course you have to make sure that you use a reputable pharmacy.

Do you get your meds with a prescription from a US doctor or a Canadian doctor?

I went on a business trip to Canada a few years back and I walked into a pharmacy, and they told me they could only fill prescriptions written by Canadian-licensed doctors. But I suspect that's not a legal requirement, just that particular pharmacy's policy.

and when folks aks me why I don't take meds …………………...

“many of them are on record as saying they would get rid of the NHS and introduce an insurance-based system”

Living on this side of the pond obviously I am not as informed as most UKers, but I don't think that is something to worry about. For one thing the NHS has been around much longer than the EU, so even if there is a Brexit I don't believe the NHS will disappear.

Very similar situation here in the U.S. Conservatives talked tough about getting rid of ObamaCare but when push comes to shove no one dared to rescind it. It now looks like it will expand and become even more robust.

BTW no offense, but I didn’t think politicians could get anymore weird than our President Trump. But compared with UK’s Marxist Corbin, provocative Farage, and mop headed Johnson, Trump is almost normal.

UCinGV said...

Do you get your meds with a prescription from a US doctor or a Canadian doctor?

Whoops, just saw this question now. I get a script from an American provider and send it to them, and it get's approved by a Canadian doctor who writes a Canadian prescription for it.

I got a prescription sent from Mauritius and it was manufactured by a big reputable pharma company in India. Seems to look and work exactly the same as the American version I was taking.

I must say that American Seniors have been very wise. They have been coming to Canada for at least 30 years probably 40 and purchasing their medications every few months in bus loads. I have also been on Diabetes sites since 2002 and I've noticed that they also have been getting Insulin and other meds from Canada. It is not against the law. I wouldn't think Opiods are legal to cross the border with though.

IamCurious said...
“many of them are on record as saying they would get rid of the NHS and introduce an insurance-based system”

Living on this side of the pond obviously I am not as informed as most UKers, but I don't think that is something to worry about. For one thing the NHS has been around much longer than the EU, so even if there is a Brexit I don't believe the NHS will disappear.

Very similar situation here in the U.S. Conservatives talked tough about getting rid of ObamaCare but when push comes to shove no one dared to rescind it. It now looks like it will expand and become even more robust.

BTW no offense, but I didn’t think politicians could get anymore weird than our President Trump. But compared with UK’s Marxist Corbin, provocative Farage, and mop headed Johnson, Trump is almost normal.

UK politics is in the worst state I've ever known it. Right now, today, May is literally refusing to open the door to her cabinet ministers. Farage is stuck on a bus surrounded by people with milkshakes. And Corbyn is still completely and utterly useless.

I don't know what will happen next.

UCinGV said...
I had been using TotalCareMart which was filling prescriptions through ALPS Pharmacy in Singapore, and giving me Sun Pharmaceuticals Mesacol OD 1200mg at just under $1/pill. But now they say they're filling through Mauritius. Fortunately I have a few months to calculate my path forward.

Update: TotalCareMart told me they cannot fulfill a prescription for generic Lialda from any of their pharmacies in NZ, UK, Canada, or Australia. Only Mauritius. Which is a bit ridiculous. So I'm going to have to find another "pharmacy referral service." Currently reaching out to others asking what countries they supply from and which manufacturers of generic Lialda they will provide. TotalCareMart was at least upfront about the country of manufacture and the country of the pharmacy, most others do not list this upfront on their website.

They told me the same company that ran the ALPS Pharmacy in Singapore has moved to Mauritius. But this isn't good enough for me.