Like tens of thousands of dog owners, I have to give my dog Optimmune treatments in both eyes daily for dry eyes.
Frankly, I got tired of paying $45 for a small tube of 3.5 grams, with a quarter of it being simply air.
So I decided to check to see if there is a generic version, containing 0.2% Cyclosporine, the same as the brand name.
I discovered that there is. It’s manufactured in India, but not sold in the United States. It is not unusual for American pharmaceutical companies to prevent cheaper generic medication from being sold here.
I found that at least two companies that sell the identical generic version – Cyclosporine – for a much cheaper price.
A Canadian firm – Canadian Pharmacy World – sells the generic version for $34.99 for a 5 gram tube. Shipping is included.
A British company – Royal Pets Meds – sells the identical product for $25. There is a $10 shipping charge.
I chose the British company and ordered two tubes, paying $10 for shipping. That brought the price per tube to $30. It took about five weeks for the medicine to arrive.
That meant that instead of spending $45 for a one month supply, I’m paying $30 for 5.7 weeks worth. Yearly, the cost drops from $540 to $171.
It is technically illegal for Americans to purchase medication from outside the country. However, our government looks the other way, other than in rare circumstances. I purchase medication for myself from a Canadian pharmacy, cutting my cost by 90 percent as I can purchase the generic version from there.
There are scores of pharmacy companies in Canada and around the world, that specialize in selling drugs to Americans.
