closer supplier, fewer flight hours, same number of customs steps. the steps are the slow part
#asia 2026-01-17
Saturday50 messages10 participantstimes are UTC
Highlights from this day
right so generics being available and generics being right for your situation are different questions, and only one of them is a chat question
for the archive the honest position on india is that i have seen good material and bad material and the paperwork told me nothing either way
forty percent apart
same customs steps
update from 10 months ago: availability in the region is broadly the same and the prices i track are slightly higher, n of 1 obviously
while im here japan approved it for both indications a while ago as i understood it, and the approval did not make it cheap
approval isnt cheap
the carrier matters more than the distance, and that is the thing this channel took two years to agree on
closer_not_simplerright so generics being available and generics being right for your situation are…
getting seen in korea was faster than any route a uk member described at the time we were both describing it
anyone had a parcel stopped moving between two asian countries
india has a real generics manufacturing base and a real domestic market. what a specific product is, and whether it matches its label, is a separate question every single time
🎉3
no letter no charge
the carrier matters
anyone shipped from inside the region and had it take longer than from further away
✅9
closer isnt simpler
insurance in the region tracked the diabetes indication in every country a member reported on
[edited]thailand and taiwan come up occasionally and we have almost no member reports from either, so i would not guess
[edited]sourcing is physically closer here, why is it not simpler
🎉3
get it tested anyway
avoid august
singapore pricing, anyone able to put a number on it
📈14✅1🧪15
is japan expensive because of the approval or in spite of it
nobody here can tell you what will clear customs where you are and that is enforced in this channel
anyone in japan paying out of pocket and what does that look like
the room does not treat closer as safer, and it took a few bad experiences to get us there, your mileage will differ
language with a local pharmacy went better once i brought the compound name written down. spoken, it never worked once
korea has a clinic culture where this is straightforward to obtain, and members reported that as both a convenience and a concern
does anyone in hong kong want to compare prices
reported by members, own currency, not comparable directly
private clinic, UK 145 - 220
statutory, DE 10 co-pay
private script, DE 180 - 240
pharmacy, PL 95 - 140
pharmacy, SE 210 - 260are the indian products the same compounds or something else entirely
is the korean clinic route cheaper than a pharmacy elsewhere
singapore was reported in here at around 400 to 600 singapore dollars a month a year or so ago, prescription only
🧪4
every price in this channel is a snapshot from the month it was typed. pricing in the region moved a lot and unevenly
india has a real generics manufacturing base and a real domestic market. what a specific product is, and whether it matches its label, is a separate question every single time
anyone compared a japanese pharmacy price against a private clinic in the region
a parcel of mine was held inside the region and released after 26 days with no letter and no charge
hong kong, is it pharmacy or clinic in practice
how do people handle the language side with a local pharmacy
japan approved it a while back didnt it, what does it cost there
[edited]*VendorInvestigate not the other one
held for 20 days
📈11🔥4
i was wrong about japanese pricing by a factor of two when i quoted it in here, because i was quoting a clinic and somebody else was quoting a pharmacy, still working it out
a member in hong kong and a member in singapore compared the same dose and came out about forty percent apart
follow up a member in tokyo reported an out of pocket cost in the region of twenty thousand yen a month in 2024, at a clinic
korea and the clinic culture, is it as easy to get as people say
[edited]👀1
member reported range
transit inside the region ran 16 days for me, which was not faster than a longer route with a better carrier, ymmv
update from 23 months ago: availability in the region is broadly the same and the prices i track are slightly higher
quick one coming back after 3 months, has anything changed on availability in the region
a korean member said their clinic visit took under an hour end to end, which is not a claim about the quality of the assessment
summer shipping matters here too. i avoid july and august the way australian members avoid january
🧪2
singapore customs, is a personal quantity fine
i was wrong about japanese pricing by a factor of two when i quoted it in here, because i was quoting a clinic and somebody else was quoting a pharmacy
sorry to jump in what does a month come to in singapore dollars