43 ms·

Is there an analysis of "all" prices somewhere, maybe even combined with the sales numbers? Just as an example, some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much m

by bastih 8y ago

Is there an analysis of "all" prices somewhere, maybe even combined with the sales numbers? Just as an example, some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much more expensive in Germany. I get that we can always point to drug X or Y. There's probably also an interesting conversation about effective cost: what does average Joe pay after taking deductions into account?

phonon 8y ago
Doesn't seem too bad... https://www.deutscheinternetapotheke.de/ibu-400-akut-1a-pharma-50stk-pzn-03045316 https://www.deutscheinternetapotheke.de/ibu-400-akut-1a-phar...
- pgeorgi 8y ago
  That's 50 x 400mg for EUR 6,29 (USD 7, give or take, incl taxes). https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg-tablets/ID=prod3882482-product https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg... is 100 x 200mg, so about the same, for USD 5 (plus taxes) But in the US you also get much larger packages that just aren't available in Germany: https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg-tablets/ID=prod6285615-product https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg... is 1000 x 200 for USD 20, 10x the drug for 3x the price.
  - janekm 8y ago
    I doubt there's much market demand for 1000 quantity bottles of Ibuprofen in Germany. If you need daily pain killers I would expect the insurance to pay for (most of) them.
    - pgeorgi 8y ago
      It was just for cost comparison: The "equal active substance" (50x400mg vs 100x200mg) package is already cheaper in the US, and they have those larger boxes that skew things even more. So yes, there are drugs that are cheaper in the US. There's also pretty solid reasoning behind why you won't find the larger packs in Germany: if you're in need of that, go to a doctor instead of ruining your kidneys through self-medication.
  - martin_a 8y ago
    Who would need 1000 Ibuprofen? Just take the good ones (800 or more) and one is enough if you go to bed after taking it. edit: I mean, do you take those regularly? That might be the problem at all.
    - pgeorgi 8y ago
      800mg is only available by prescription (of course, you could just take 2x400mg, but that means going to the pharmacy even more often, which works out as designed)
      - martin_a 8y ago
        But how often do you need Ibuprofen, so this matters? I think I'm using much less than a small package per year.
        pgeorgi 8y ago
        I mentioned in the 1000pcs bottle for price comparison purposes. Buy a 1000 pcs bottle, split up with 10 friends who get 100pcs each, split up the costs, save 4€ out of 6€ per person.
  - benj111 8y ago
    As a point of comparison. In the UK. Tablets work out to 1.81p each (200mg) https://groceries.asda.com/product/ibuprofen/asda-ibuprofen-200mg-tablets-16-pack/37902 https://groceries.asda.com/product/ibuprofen/asda-ibuprofen-... So £1.81 ($2.38) / 100 (according to google)
  - ashildr 8y ago
    A generally healthy person may need a few Ibuprofen per year if any at all. Ibuprofen or Paracetamol are not M&M. And if you actually need so much painkillers you definitely should see a physician!
    - vonmoltke 8y ago
      Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are not the same kind of compound. Acetaminophen is an analgesic (painkiller). Ibuprofen is not; it's an anti-inflammatory. It has more uses than just pain relief, and has different effects on the body.
spacenick88 8y ago
But Ibuprofen isn't necessary for most of its users survival and is still much cheaper. More importantly, with both a social safety net and public health care close to no one in Germany will die because they could not afford medical care. So you're comparing a $10 drug that most people take against head ache, cramps or light pain with a drug that, where its unavailability will kill many diabetes patients within weeks or months.
TulliusCicero 8y ago
> some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much more expensive in Germany. What's stranger to me as an American living in Germany is that you can't get it at "drug stores" like DM, Rossman, etc. that are the equivalent of CVS/Walgreens, let alone grocery stores. You have to get it at an apotheke (pharmacy) that's a separate business. In practice that means it's both more annoying (due to more limited business hours) and more expensive. No going to Costco to get a bigass bottle of more ibuprofen than any one family could reasonably use here. But you can order it online at Amazon, oddly enough, though it's still much more expensive than in the states, and it looks like the largest size on offer is 50-count. I get that German society is somewhat more regulated than in the US, but I just don't see what's the threat with basic medicines like ibuprofen that necessitates them being sold at specialist stores.
- jlangenauer 8y ago
  Yes, this is a constant irritation here, presumably to protect the awful Apothekes, who have a protectionist guild, and also - shamefully - sell complete nonsense like homeopathy. I normally stock up on OTC medication like Ibuprofen when I’m in the UK.
- pas 8y ago
  The idea was that you can talk with a professional pharmacist, help you set dosage, etc. Sometimes doctors write a recipe that has to be mixed, and so the pharmacist can do that. Of course since pharmacies are also for profit shops, this aforementioned role is less and less important, and there's a pretty constant push to make the publicly available (so doesn't require prescription from a doctor) drugs free to sell at any other shop. (Eg. 0-24 petrol stations.) Eventually that push will go through.
- cleansy 8y ago
  Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". Either way, Americans tend to overuse this drug as a pain killer for every little bit of ache they may have, which is dangerous. The first time I took ibuprofen was when I broke my arm with 12-13 for the first day. The next time was with 24 after I got a root canal removed.
fyfy18 8y ago
Prices of basic drugs like ibuprofen, paracetamol or aspirin are a bad choice for comparison. They are so cheap that pharmacies will usually stock a brand (sometimes competing brands) that they can sell for higher margins. Also in Europe they are limits on how many can be sold at once without a prescription, so they are usually only sold in smaller packs compared to the US.

by bastih 8y ago

phonon 8y ago

Doesn't seem too bad... https://www.deutscheinternetapotheke.de/ibu-400-akut-1a-pharma-50stk-pzn-03045316 https://www.deutscheinternetapotheke.de/ibu-400-akut-1a-phar...

pgeorgi 8y ago
That's 50 x 400mg for EUR 6,29 (USD 7, give or take, incl taxes). https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg-tablets/ID=prod3882482-product https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg... is 100 x 200mg, so about the same, for USD 5 (plus taxes) But in the US you also get much larger packages that just aren't available in Germany: https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg-tablets/ID=prod6285615-product https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-ibuprofen-200-mg... is 1000 x 200 for USD 20, 10x the drug for 3x the price.
- janekm 8y ago
  I doubt there's much market demand for 1000 quantity bottles of Ibuprofen in Germany. If you need daily pain killers I would expect the insurance to pay for (most of) them.
  - pgeorgi 8y ago
    It was just for cost comparison: The "equal active substance" (50x400mg vs 100x200mg) package is already cheaper in the US, and they have those larger boxes that skew things even more. So yes, there are drugs that are cheaper in the US. There's also pretty solid reasoning behind why you won't find the larger packs in Germany: if you're in need of that, go to a doctor instead of ruining your kidneys through self-medication.
- martin_a 8y ago
  Who would need 1000 Ibuprofen? Just take the good ones (800 or more) and one is enough if you go to bed after taking it. edit: I mean, do you take those regularly? That might be the problem at all.
  - pgeorgi 8y ago
    800mg is only available by prescription (of course, you could just take 2x400mg, but that means going to the pharmacy even more often, which works out as designed)
    - martin_a 8y ago
      But how often do you need Ibuprofen, so this matters? I think I'm using much less than a small package per year.
      - pgeorgi 8y ago
        I mentioned in the 1000pcs bottle for price comparison purposes. Buy a 1000 pcs bottle, split up with 10 friends who get 100pcs each, split up the costs, save 4€ out of 6€ per person.
- benj111 8y ago
  As a point of comparison. In the UK. Tablets work out to 1.81p each (200mg) https://groceries.asda.com/product/ibuprofen/asda-ibuprofen-200mg-tablets-16-pack/37902 https://groceries.asda.com/product/ibuprofen/asda-ibuprofen-... So £1.81 ($2.38) / 100 (according to google)
- ashildr 8y ago
  A generally healthy person may need a few Ibuprofen per year if any at all. Ibuprofen or Paracetamol are not M&M. And if you actually need so much painkillers you definitely should see a physician!
  - vonmoltke 8y ago
    Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are not the same kind of compound. Acetaminophen is an analgesic (painkiller). Ibuprofen is not; it's an anti-inflammatory. It has more uses than just pain relief, and has different effects on the body.

spacenick88 8y ago

But Ibuprofen isn't necessary for most of its users survival and is still much cheaper. More importantly, with both a social safety net and public health care close to no one in Germany will die because they could not afford medical care. So you're comparing a $10 drug that most people take against head ache, cramps or light pain with a drug that, where its unavailability will kill many diabetes patients within weeks or months.

TulliusCicero 8y ago

> some more common drugs like Ibuprofen are much more expensive in Germany. What's stranger to me as an American living in Germany is that you can't get it at "drug stores" like DM, Rossman, etc. that are the equivalent of CVS/Walgreens, let alone grocery stores. You have to get it at an apotheke (pharmacy) that's a separate business. In practice that means it's both more annoying (due to more limited business hours) and more expensive. No going to Costco to get a bigass bottle of more ibuprofen than any one family could reasonably use here. But you can order it online at Amazon, oddly enough, though it's still much more expensive than in the states, and it looks like the largest size on offer is 50-count. I get that German society is somewhat more regulated than in the US, but I just don't see what's the threat with basic medicines like ibuprofen that necessitates them being sold at specialist stores.

jlangenauer 8y ago
Yes, this is a constant irritation here, presumably to protect the awful Apothekes, who have a protectionist guild, and also - shamefully - sell complete nonsense like homeopathy. I normally stock up on OTC medication like Ibuprofen when I’m in the UK.
pas 8y ago
The idea was that you can talk with a professional pharmacist, help you set dosage, etc. Sometimes doctors write a recipe that has to be mixed, and so the pharmacist can do that. Of course since pharmacies are also for profit shops, this aforementioned role is less and less important, and there's a pretty constant push to make the publicly available (so doesn't require prescription from a doctor) drugs free to sell at any other shop. (Eg. 0-24 petrol stations.) Eventually that push will go through.
cleansy 8y ago
Even though ibuprofen is considered a basic medicine, it's still a medicine. Ibuprofen is not totally risk free and therefore needs to be sold by "professionals". Either way, Americans tend to overuse this drug as a pain killer for every little bit of ache they may have, which is dangerous. The first time I took ibuprofen was when I broke my arm with 12-13 for the first day. The next time was with 24 after I got a root canal removed.

fyfy18 8y ago

Prices of basic drugs like ibuprofen, paracetamol or aspirin are a bad choice for comparison. They are so cheap that pharmacies will usually stock a brand (sometimes competing brands) that they can sell for higher margins. Also in Europe they are limits on how many can be sold at once without a prescription, so they are usually only sold in smaller packs compared to the US.