Always buy Lipitor from a licensed bricks and mortar pharmacy or VIPPS-certified online pharmacy

December 5, 2011

On Nov. 30th, 2011 the US Food and Drug Administration approved a generic version of Lipitor for manufacture by generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories. While the price break will be a great relief for some, just because a drug is generic doesn’t mean consumers can purchase it from unlicensed websites.

On Nov. 30th, 2011 the US Food and Drug Administration approved a generic version of Lipitor for manufacture by generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories.  While the price break will be a great relief for some, just because a drug is generic doesn’t mean consumers can purchase it from unlicensed websites.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines has assembled this resource page to help media adequately warn Lipitor patients about how to maintain their health without compromising their safety.

Our consumer alert about generic Lipitor

Many consumers may think that having a generic version of Lipitor means they don’t have to be vigilant either about taking the drug or where they get it from, when in fact both are just as true.   In December 2011 we released a consumer alert that says, in short:

  • Only purchase your medication, even generic medication, from a licensed bricks and mortar or VIPPS-certified online pharmacy
  • Only switch medications under the supervision of a doctor or pharmacist, and remember that generic Lipitor still requires a prescription from a doctor
  • Criminals have been making fake Lipitor for at least 6 years and distributing it, don’t be fooled
  • If you need help affording your medications use needymeds.org or medicalassistancetool.org, don’t go online to non-certified pharmacies
  • Many Canadian online pharmacies selling branded or generic Lipitor are usually neither Canadian nor pharmacies, only use VIPPS certified online pharmacies.

Remember, there are a number of ways consumers can save safely when buying your prescriptions online.   Pick up our handout “Save Money Safely On Prescription Drugs from Online Pharmacies“.

You can’t tell fakes by eyesight

The reason it’s so important to purchase medicine only from licensed vendors is because even the experts can’t tell the real from the counterfeit product just by looking at them.  Both the packaging and even the pills themselves are good enough to fool anyone.

Lipitor
In this photo above from the University of Texas Austin, the counterfeit Lipitor is on the left, and the real product is on the right.

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In this photo above from the FDA, the packaging of the fake looks exactly the same as the real product.

History of counterfeited Lipitor

The more popular the drug, the more of a draw it is for a criminal to make and sell a fake version of it.  Counterfeit Lipitor has been in the drug supply of many countries besides the United States for many years, including supposedly “safe” countries such as Great Britain.  Here is a short history of counterfeit incidents involving Lipitor from the SafeMedicines.org archives:

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