STAT+: Many costly generic drugs are unavailable at Amazon, Cuban, and other alternative pharmacies

A growing number of alternative pharmacies — such as those run by Costco, Amazon, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs — may be increasingly popular with American consumers, but a new analysis finds many of the most expensive generic medicines are unavailable, prices vary widely, and savings can be modest.

Of 100 expensive generics used to treat such diseases as cancer, HIV, or multiple sclerosis, 20% were not available at one or more of these pharmacies. Of 88 expensive generics that were available in comparable quantities and strengths in all of the pharmacies, 47% were least expensive at Amazon, 26% were cheapest at the Cuban company, 14% at Health Warehouse, and only 13% were cheapest at Costco.

However, nearly all — 98% — of 50 commonly used generics were widely available, although pricing also varied among what the researchers called direct-to-consumer pharmacies. Among the common generics that were available, 31% had the lowest prices at Costco, 27% at Amazon, 20% at Walmart, 12% at Health Warehouse, and 10% at Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs.

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