The Internet has ushered in an era of competition where consumer is the king and there is an eternal fight for a fair share in the market amongst the commercial establishments. The pharmacies are also fighting a business battle in cyberspace. The trend of online pharmacies is catching up vary rapidly amongst the patients.

The reasons behind the revolutionary success of online pharmacy trade could be summed up in the following words
The convenience with which the online pharmacies offer the drugs to the patients at their doorsteps is the major USP of the virtual pharmacies.
The online pharmacies even offeronline prescription for the drugs that are legally required to be taken only after prescription from a qualified doctor.
The online drugs offered by the online pharmacies are generally much cheaper.
The online pharmacy means cheap pharmacy requiring just a PC and the Internet connection.
The reduced cost of investment means cheap drugs for the consumers.
With virtually no cost on setting up infrastructure, the online pharmacies invest huge sums of money on buying drugs in bulk, which come cheaper. This benefit is ultimately transferred to the consumer.
The online pharmacies are swarming the cyberspace and there is an intense competition in the virtual world. Obviously, competition translates into more competitive prices and better quality of drugs.

But a strong criticism is also prevalent against the trend of online pharmacies. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do not recognize online pharmacies.
Therefore, it is illegal to sell online prescription drugs in the US. The various online pharmacies soliciting business from the US are doing it at their own peril. The basic premise behind this opposition stems from the fact that a lot of these virtual drug stores sell fake and counterfeit drugs in the name of discount pharmacy.

Moreover, the FDA does not recognize the practice of online prescriptions and favor the physical verification of the patients by a qualified doctor, which is always suspect in case of online pharmacies.