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Article: Lower drug prices: patients will pay; insurers are lobbying to win over-the-counter status for Claritin and other off-patent remedies. (Spending).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
- Article date:
- June 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, 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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CLARITIN, a popular prescription allergy medication that has compiled a safe track record, is likely to be sold over the counter later this year. It's the first of more than a dozen drugs expected to make the switch over the next few years as their patents expire, according to a study by Business Communications Co., a market-research firm.
While pharmaceutical companies looking for new markets have sometimes petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to change a drug's status, the prime mover in Claritin's case is WellPoint, a California HMO that is the first health insurer to petition the FDA on a drug's behalf--over the objections of Schering-Plough, which ...