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Article: Ugly wait at the counter; Insurer pushes to make allergy drugs nonprescription.(WellPoint Health Networks presses for over-the-counter availability of allergy drugs Claritin, Allegra, Zyrtec)(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Modern Healthcare
- Article date:
- August 6, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In their TV ads and promotions, the makers of Claritin and Allegra boast that their allergy drugs' side effects are comparable to those of a sugar pill. Now the nation's fourth-largest health insurer is challenging them to put their money where their mouth is.
In an unprecedented move, WellPoint Health Networks has been urging the Food and Drug Administration to make Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin, Aventis Pharmaceutical's Allegra and Pfizer's Zyrtec available over the counter against the drugmakers' wishes. The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based insurer contends the antihistamines are safe enough to be bought directly by consumers without a doctor's prescription-and ...