Do Canadian prescriptions have different names/looks?

Yes. There are many prescriptions which look different than they do in the United States but they all have the same active ingredients. This means that you are purchasing the same medication as you would get at your local pharmacy with an average savings of between 40-70%!

Prescription drugs in Canada can look different than ones purchased in the United States. This is due in part to how a pharmaceutical company wants to market a particular brand name prescription. Although the prescription drugs may appear to be different, they are, in most cases, manufactured by the same companies as in the US. There are a few examples of these differences which we have compiled for your benefit. We will examine the differences in Nexium, Zoloft and Detrol LA (Unidet in Canada).

Nexium is known as the “purple pill” in the United States and is marketed to seniors on nationwide, prime-time advertising campaigns during your evening dinner. In Canada,Nexium  is actually PINK. However, despite their differences, they are both the same drug (Esomeprazole) and manufactured by the same pharmaceutical company in both countries – AstraZenica.

Sometimes prescriptions come in a different form with the same name. Our example of this case is Zoloft  which is manufactured by Pfizer in both Canada and the United States. In the United States, we are familiar with Zoloft  as a TABLET. In Canada, however, Pfizer has chosen to manufacture Zoloft  in CAPSULE form. Both forms carry the same active ingredient – Sertraline – they only differ in the manufactured form.

Detrol La is known as Unidet in Canada. It is manufactured by Pharmacia in both Canada and the United States. In Canada however, it is simply marketed under a different name. It contains the same active ingredient in both countries and also appears in the same form – capsule.

There are a few other differences between prescription drugs in Canada and the United States, however they mostly involve different manufactured forms, different inactive ingredients, or different names for the same prescription. Our online pharmacy database  provides you with information on all Canadian prescription medications when you click on a particular drug’s name.