Medicine in Malaysia a cost saving for some Singaporeans. Are they trading safety for price?
The search for cheaper medication — and easier access to prescription drugs — has taken some Singaporeans across the Causeway. The programme Talking PointJOHOR BAHRU: For almost a decade, estate agent and content creator Ryan Khoo has made videos comparing life on both sides of the Causeway, such as videos about all things cheaper in Malaysia.
Indeed, many Singaporeans travel to Johor for cheap groceries and fuel. For some, however, it is something else that is driving them there: prescription drugs.
“Lots of people don’t know that … prescription medicines are a lot cheaper as well,” said Khoo, who cited cholesterol medicine, blood pressure medication and “even the humble Panadol” as examples.
“And you can buy up to three months’ worth of medicines. … The pharmacists don’t require you to provide any form of prescription.”
He found this out after being asked to buy medicine in Johor Bahru for a friend’s father. “Later on, I realised quite a lot of people do it. Either they buy it for themselves or for their parents,” said Khoo.
WHICH MEDICINES AND HOW CHEAP?
In Singapore, medicines that require a prescription or a pharmacist consultation include Lipitor for high cholesterol and Ozempic, a diabetic medicine that people also use to lose weight.Most of the pharmacies Chia went to in Johor — from independent ones to large chains — were willing to sell him these and other medications, including painkillers, with no questions asked.
In Singapore, a steroid cream such as Elomet would ordinarily be sold one tube at a time to prevent side effects from overuse. But in Johor, there was no limit.
Chia’s shopping haul included five tubes of Elomet.
It was harder to get antibiotics without a prescription — for example Augmentin — but Chia got some in the end.
One pharmacist said most of the Singaporeans who come to her pharmacy are “searching for sleeping pills”, which would include Valium.
And one Singaporean whom Chia ran into at a pharmacy was stocking up on Twynsta, which is for hypertension. Back home, a box costs more than S$100, compared to RM66 (S$19) in Johor, said the customer.
“When I realised it, I was so agitated because that’s (a big) difference,” he added. “I stopped buying (the drug) from my clinic.”
There is a chance that some common drugs are still cheaper in Malaysia than their subsidised prices in Singapore’s hospitals, according to Nikki Ng, managing editor of MIMS Healthcare Data, which publishes medical and drug-related reports.
A box of 40-milligramme Micardis tablets, for high blood pressure, costs RM62 in Johor and about S$53 in Singapore, she cited. A box of 10-mg Lipitor tablets, meanwhile, costs RM108 and about S$76 respectively.
Asthma puffer Ventolin costs RM24 compared to S$21, while Elomet sells at RM29 compared to S$18. Essentially, the medications Ng cited were more than 50 per cent cheaper in Johor than in Singapore.
One of the main reasons for the lower prices, besides the exchange rate, is “stiff competition”.
“Sometimes in the same street, you’ll have at least three to four pharmacies,” said Ng. “They can be from the large chains (or) could be individual pharmacies.
“When there’s so much competition, the pharmacies would … drop the price just to make sure the customers come back.”
for price?
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Medicine in Malaysia a cost saving for some Singaporeans. Are they trading safety for price?
The search for cheaper medication — and easier access to prescription drugs — has taken some Singaporeans across the Causeway. The programme Talking Point finds out the risks involved and whether buyers are really getting what they need.
Talking Point host Steven Chia bringing medicines from Malaysia to a laboratory to be tested for drug potency.
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Derrick A Paulo & Kenneth Lim
12 Feb 2024 06:00AM (Updated: 12 Feb 2024 07:49AM)
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JOHOR BAHRU: For almost a decade, estate agent and content creator Ryan Khoo has made videos comparing life on both sides of the Causeway, such as videos about all things cheaper in Malaysia.
Indeed, many Singaporeans travel to Johor for cheap groceries and fuel. For some, however, it is something else that is driving them there: prescription drugs.
“Lots of people don’t know that … prescription medicines are a lot cheaper as well,” said Khoo, who cited cholesterol medicine, blood pressure medication and “even the humble Panadol” as examples.
“And you can buy up to three months’ worth of medicines. … The pharmacists don’t require you to provide any form of prescription.”
He found this out after being asked to buy medicine in Johor Bahru for a friend’s father. “Later on, I realised quite a lot of people do it. Either they buy it for themselves or for their parents,” said Khoo.
Talking Point viewers, too, wrote in saying they not only get cheaper medicines in Malaysia, but also can buy those that require a prescription without proffering a doctor’s note. There are risks, however, as host Steven Chia discovers.
WHICH MEDICINES AND HOW CHEAP?
In Singapore, medicines that require a prescription or a pharmacist consultation include Lipitor for high cholesterol and Ozempic, a diabetic medicine that people also use to lose weight.Most of the pharmacies Chia went to in Johor — from independent ones to large chains — were willing to sell him these and other medications, including painkillers, with no questions asked.
In Singapore, a steroid cream such as Elomet would ordinarily be sold one tube at a time to prevent side effects from overuse. But in Johor, there was no limit.
It was harder to get antibiotics without a prescription — for example Augmentin — but Chia got some in the end.
One pharmacist said most of the Singaporeans who come to her pharmacy are “searching for sleeping pills”, which would include Valium.
And one Singaporean whom Chia ran into at a pharmacy was stocking up on Twynsta, which is for hypertension. Back home, a box costs more than S$100, compared to RM66 (S$19) in Johor, said the customer.
“When I realised it, I was so agitated because that’s (a big) difference,” he added. “I stopped buying (the drug) from my clinic.”
WATCH: Is it safe to buy cheap medicine from Malaysia — without a prescription? (22:02)
There is a chance that some common drugs are still cheaper in Malaysia than their subsidised prices in Singapore’s hospitals, according to Nikki Ng, managing editor of MIMS Healthcare Data, which publishes medical and drug-related reports.
A box of 40-milligramme Micardis tablets, for high blood pressure, costs RM62 in Johor and about S$53 in Singapore, she cited. A box of 10-mg Lipitor tablets, meanwhile, costs RM108 and about S$76 respectively.
Asthma puffer Ventolin costs RM24 compared to S$21, while Elomet sells at RM29 compared to S$18. Essentially, the medications Ng cited were more than 50 per cent cheaper in Johor than in Singapore.
One of the main reasons for the lower prices, besides the exchange rate, is “stiff competition”.
“Sometimes in the same street, you’ll have at least three to four pharmacies,” said Ng. “They can be from the large chains (or) could be individual pharmacies.
“When there’s so much competition, the pharmacies would … drop the price just to make sure the customers come back.”
Also, in a smaller market like Singapore, “pharma companies sometimes might decide to price (medication) higher”, she added, whereas selling to Malaysia’s larger population means economies of scale and thus lower prices.
GENERIC DRUGS
Medicines can be even cheaper if they are generic drugs, which are produced after the patent on the original drug has expired. The brand Rotaqor, cited Ng, is equivalent to Lipitor but sells at RM13 per box, instead of RM108.While medicines are often referred to by their brand name, what defines a drug is its active ingredient — the substance with an effect on the body. And generics are supposed to have the same active ingredients as branded drugs.
Paracetamol is an example of a generic medicine referred to by its active ingredient, instead of the famous brand name, Panadol. It is among hundreds of drugs produced by YSP Southeast Asia Holding, one of Malaysia’s largest manufacturers of generics.
