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.
