Category Archives: Cheap Pharmacy

By Lee Samaha - October 4, 2012 | Tickers: CVS, ESRX, PRGO, WMT, WAG | 0 Comments Lee is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited. Sometimes as investors we can over-analyze and spend so much time looking at fine details that we miss the bigger picture. I think this is exactly what many are doing with Walgreen (NYSE: WAG). Every investor is trying to analyze how many of the lost customers Walgreen will regain from the Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) debacle, but does a debate over the marginal amount really matter when the stock is so cheap? I dont think it does. Time to Confess OK, I admit it: I am one of the guilty parties. I hold a position in CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), and quite frankly I think Walgreen will find it difficult to win back lost customers from the likes of CVS and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). I even articulated this view in a previous article. Investors should understand that whole industries are structured around the reason why Walgreen will find it hard to win customers back. Customer inertia is a very … Continue reading →

India's cheap drugs under threat By Martin Khor GENEVA - India is famous for the Taj Mahal, its religious ceremonies, Bollywood films and in recent years one of the world's highest economic growth rates in recent years. Less famously but no less important, the country has had a positive global impact through its supply of vast quantities of low-cost, good-quality generic medicines, which have saved or prolonged millions of lives. A decade ago, Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla produced generic HIV/AIDS drugs that could treat a patient for US$300 a year, against the branded product's cost of $10,000 per patient a year. Today the Indian generic version is even cheaper, below $80. This has enabled millions more AIDS patients to be treated, since India supplies 70% of the HIV/AIDS drugs obtained by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the Global Fund and the William J Clinton Foundation for developing countries. A further 75-80% of medicines (not only for AIDS) distributed by the International Dispensary Association to developing countries come from India. No wonder India has been termed the pharmacy of the developing world. In January 2012, the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA), comprising 700 drug-manufacturing companies, celebrated its 50th anniversary by … Continue reading →

Destined to live and die in pain 12.06.2012 Wilma Stassen Morphine is a safe, effective and cheap treatment for pain, yet, many people dont have access to it, and in fact, many South Africans die in agonising pain because it is not made available to them. Pain, pain, pain. The last two weeks of that mans life was just pain from beginning to end, recalls Sister Delores Cano, a nurse at the Nightingale Hospice in De Aar in the Northern Cape. Cona had to stand by helplessly while a 49-year old cancer patient died in unbearable pain because the local health services refused to issue him with more morphine. Doctors are scared to prescribe morphine and we have to put up a big fight to get it for our patients, says Cona, a stout woman with a kind face who speaks pure Afrikaans with a charming Cape accent. And often when we get morphine, the doses isnt enough to cover the pain for long. When a patients disease has progressed to a certain point, some medical professionals are of the opinion that they have done all they could and then stop treatment, often because they dont want to spend any … Continue reading →

Many ill South Africans live and die suffering from unnecessary and excruciating pain. It is estimated that almost all HIV patients (96%) and more than two in three (70%) of cancer patients experience severe pain during the course of their disease because they do not have access to cheap and effective pain medication. Morphine is a safe, effective and cheap treatment for pain, yet, many people don't have access to it, and in fact, many South Africans die in agonising pain because it is not made available to them. "Pain, pain, pain. The last two weeks of that man's life was just pain from beginning to end," recalls Sister Delores Cano, a nurse at the Nightingale Hospice in De Aar in the Northern Cape. Cona had to stand by helplessly while a 49-year old cancer patient died in unbearable pain because the local health services refused to issue him with more morphine. "Doctors are scared to prescribe morphine and we have to put up a big fight to get it for our patients," says Cona, a stout woman with a kind face who speaks pure Afrikaans with a charming Cape accent. "And often when we get morphine, the doses isn't … Continue reading →

By Eric Novinson - June 12, 2012 | Tickers: DG, DLTR, FDO, FRED | 0 Comments Eric is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited. Many well known discount stores are trading close to their yearly highs right now, as investors expect shoppers to pass up mid-market stores in favor of cheaper alternatives. Although this theory still seems reasonable, the rising valuations of the dollar stores have become a concern for some investors. An investor who wants to pay less of a premium for shares of a discount store might want to consider Fred's, Inc., (NASDAQ: FRED) instead. The main value investing argument for Fred's, Inc, is that its book price per share is fairly close to its market price per share. Yahoo Finance gives a book value per share of $11.56 for Fred's, and a market share price of $14.23. Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), and Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) have book values per share of $12.76, $13.82, and $10.43, respectively. At share prices of $106.72 for Dollar Tree, $50.29 for Dollar General, and $69.58 for Family Dollar, Fred's shares look … Continue reading →

Everyone knows that a baby-pink ribbon is for breast cancer awareness. But what about a baby-blue ribbon? Did you know its for prostate awareness? Mens health tends to take a back seat in our society. But men are just like women when they put off doctor visits and health screenings, their whole families can suffer. That can mean preventable health care costs, chronic health problems, and even death. So in honor of Mens Health Month, weve compiled five life- and money-saving health screenings for you or the men in your life The Centers for Disease Control rank heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States, and the Mayo Clinic considers it the No. 1 threat to men in particular. One of the best ways to prevent it is to monitor your lipid profile, a blood test that measures your total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides. The worst part of the test? You have to fast the night before. The American Heart Association recommends that adults over age 20 have their lipids tested once every five years. Adults over age 45 or with certain heart disease risk factors should be tested more often. … Continue reading →

Minnesota Sounds and Voices by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio June 11, 2012 Audio player code: ST. PAUL, Minn. Salah Fattah can pinpoint the moment the music bug bit him. He was 12 years old; the family was living in Cairo. He and his older brother were at a theater watching Charlie Chaplin's movie, "Limelight." The physical humor was fun, but Fattah says the movie's theme song captivated him - and inspired him to buy a violin. "It was really made almost like a plywood type. It was very cheap," Fattah recalls of the little instrument. "When I bought that violin my mother said, 'You better hide that, you know. Your father, he's going to worry about your school.'" Fattah's father was a teacher, his mother a homemaker, and the family of six lived on a modest income. Getting an education was a big family value. And Fattah says his formal music education was short-lived, a victim of the economy. "I had two lessons at school, and then there was no budget for the teachers to stay any longer, and there was no way I was going to ask at home for private lessons because it was a secret," he … Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS -- According to a report by ThumbTack.com, Las Vegas is a top city for being small business friendly. Small businesses are becoming a bright spot in the economy. The report surveyed more than 6,000 small business owners nationwide and, despite the recession, businesses in Las Vegas are confident they can succeed. After the construction industry came to a screeching halt, Dane Keiser came up with another idea -- he started a lawn maintenance company called Two White Guys and a Dog. In just about a year, their customer base has almost tripled with about 125 customers a month. Keiser credits that to the company's creative name, but also providing quality services that are affordable. He says small businesses are the backbone of our economy because they put locals to work, which creates a trickle effect that benefits everyone. "Every dollar someone spends with me, I've got to spend it at Star Nursery, at Lowes, at Home Depot. My money doesn't leave Vegas, it stays right here. I've got everyone local and they support me too," said Keiser. Lola's Kitchen started up about two years ago and owner Lola Pokorny says business is incredible. The Louisiana themed restaurant holds … Continue reading →

The reduction of prices on certain drugs by Boots, while the cost of others sold by the pharmacy will increase, has been described as a form of subsidisation. The Consumer Association of Ireland(CAI) had initially welcomed the announcement on Monday that Boots was changing its pricing system in a way that would cut the cost of the ten most-expensive prescription medicines by an average of 25%. CAI chief Dermott Jewellsaid that a fuller picture had emerged since the original announcement was made on Monday. "The difficulty that has come across in the last 24 hours is that... we're still just seeing a shifting in the pricing structure, I mean Boots themselves have admitted that other prices will increase, so its a form of subsidisation," he said. Boots has acknowledged that the prices of some of the most commonly prescribed medicines will increase. Boots' Director of Pharmacy Mary Rose Burke said that while no prices were being increased to compensate for price reductions elsewhere, the retail price of some low cost medications would be impacted by a flat rate fee of 7. "The new pricing structure that moves to a 0% mark up on the price of medicines and replaces the … Continue reading →

Mailand (R) Quo vadis Italien? Diese Frage beschftigte die meisten Aussteller und Besucher auf der Plast, der nach Veranstalter-Angaben grten europische Kunststoff-Messe des Jahres, die vom 8. bis 12. Mai 2012 in den Hallen des Mailnder Messegelndes Fiera Milano ber die Bhne ging. Einem Gefhl der Hoffnung, dass es nach dem Desaster im Krisenjahr 2009 nur besser werden knne, stand die Unsicherheit ob der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung des nach Deutschland zweitgrten europischen Kunststoff-Marktes gegenber. Diese Grundstimmung drckt sich auch in der Bilanz aus, die die Veranstalter kurz nach Messeschluss vorlegten. Zwar waren mit 1.514 Ausstellern in diesem Jahr ein paar mehr vertreten als 2009 (1.478), sie belegten jedoch mit 56.832 m2 weniger Flche als bei der vergangenen Ausgabe der Plast (59.714 m2). Und auch die Besucherzahl schrumpfte erneut: Statt 55.175 im Jahr 2009 fanden diesmal nur 50.593 Gste den Weg nach Mailand. Wohlgemerkt: 2009 fand die Messe auf dem Hhepunkt der Weltwirtschaftkrise statt, die damaligen Zahlen waren der absolute Tiefpunkt. Umso bemerkenswerter, dass es jetzt erneut bergab ging. Im Vorfeld hatte der Verband der italienischen K-Maschinenbauer mit guten 2011-er Zahlen fr das Branchen-Ereignis getrommelt. Assocomaplast bilanzierte gegenber 2010 ein Umsatzwachstum von 11,1% auf 4 Mrd. EUR. Getragen wurde dies vor allem … Continue reading →