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JUPITER RESEARCH REPORTS, DESPITE THE FEARS OF U.S. PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, ONLINE PRESCRIPTION DRUG SALES IN THE U.S. BY FOREIGN PHARMACIES REMAIN VERY SMALL FOR NOW
(New York, NY - April 22, 2003) - Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM), estimates that U.S. consumers spent $700 million online to purchase prescription drugs from foreign online pharmacies, including Canada, in 2002. While sizable, this amount represents less than 0.4% of the total U.S. drug market. Among other factors, unanswered promises of drug benefits for seniors and the uninsured are likely to keep FDA enforcement to a minimum, leading to increased growth of this market mainly through online storefronts.Based on a March 2003 consumer survey fielded by Jupiter Research, Jupiter Research's new report "Foreign Online Pharmacies: Sizing the U.S. Market for Imported Prescription Drugs" found that less than 3% of online chronic drug users purchase prescription drugs directly from foreign online pharmacies. The current threat to the U.S. prescription drug market is limited because inadequately insured seniors and low-wage workers - the consumers with the greatest motivation to seek out low-cost drugs - are underrepresented online. However, kiosk-facilitated channels pose the most immediate threat to U.S. prescription drug sales; inexperienced online consumers and some offline consumers use these online storefronts to process their prescriptions to save costs. According to Monique Levy, Analyst at Jupiter Research, "Although the current market size for cheap prescription drug imports is less than 0.4% of the overall market, the biggest worry to U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail pharmacies is the potential of the kiosk and Internet cafe-facilitated channel because of lax enforcement by the FDA."
Given the political sensitivity of drug benefits for seniors it is likely that FDA enforcement will be minimal, despite the strong influence of the pharmaceutical lobby. The most effective lever that U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers have for limiting foreign trade is to continue to restrict supply for example to Canadian wholesalers. "Defining the potential growth of this market will be unclear until conflicting political, commercial, legal and consumer interests are resolved," stated Levy.
The complete findings of these reports are immediately available to Jupiter Research clients online. For more information please contact Kieran Kelly at [email protected] or call 1-800-481-1212.
About Jupitermedia Corporation
Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM), (www.jupitermedia.com)
headquartered in Darien, CT, is a leading provider of global real-time news, information, research and media resources for information technology and Internet industry professionals. Jupitermedia includes the internet.com and EarthWeb.com Network of over 150 Web sites and 175 e-mail newsletters that generate over 200 million page views monthly. Jupitermedia also includes Jupiter Research, a leading international research advisory organization specializing in business and technology market research in 18 business areas and 10 vertical markets. In addition, Jupiter Events include nearly 40 offline conferences and trade shows focused on IT and business-specific topics, including Computer Digital Expo, America's 21st Century Information Technology Conference & Expo (www.cdxpo.com).
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties address a variety of subjects including, for example, the competitive environment in which Jupitermedia Corporation competes; the unpredictability of Jupitermedia Corporation's future revenues, expenses, cash flows and stock price; Jupitermedia Corporation's ability to integrate acquired businesses, products and personnel into its existing businesses; Jupitermedia Corporation's international and venture fund investments; any material change in Jupitermedia Corporation's intellectual property rights and continued growth and acceptance of information technology and the Internet. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties, refer to Jupitermedia Corporation's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date of this press release, and Jupitermedia Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements after the date hereof.
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