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Claritin switch has deeper implications. (Merchandising).
NEW YORK -- The switch of Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin from prescription to over-the-counter (O-T-C) status is shaking up the allergy category in more ways than one.
One unexpected result of the move is that some consumers may actually be paying more for the product as a result of the switch, because the nonsedating antihistamine (NSA) is no longer covered by health plans.
Some plans have also started charging higher copayments for such products as Aventis SA's Allegra and Pfizer Inc.'s Zyrtec, both of which are still on patent protection and are available only with a prescription.
Meanwhile California regulators have weighed in, warning health plans last month not to terminate coverage of prescription medication just because a similar drug is available as an O-T-C. Health plans that stop covering such NSAs as Allegra, Zyrtec and Schering-Plough's Clarinex would do so against the state's advice.
The advisory bulletin applies broadly to all categories of drugs, including heartburn remedies known as proton pump inhibitors. Procter & Gamble Co. is preparing a nonprescription version of AstraZeneca's Prilosec.
Consumers buying NSAs, meanwhile, have more choices than ever. Wyeth Consumer Healthcare has begun selling Alavert, a nonprescription allergy medicine containing loratadine, the active ingredient in Claritin.
Wyeth is advertising Alavert ...
- FDA Approval of Over-The-Counter -OTC- Claritin has Profound Bottom Line...
- Press release article from: Business Wire November 27, 2002 700+ words
...Expects to Help Save Health Plans and Employers Up...sedating antihistamine Claritin for over-the...opportunity for health plans and employers to...availability of Claritin in an over-the...allows employers and health plans to reduce their...
- FDA Clears Claritin for Over-the-Counter Use.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News November 28, 2002 700+ words
...over-the-counter Claritin may exceed co-payments...prescription plans. Claritin is manufactured by Schering...beyond the pharmacy. Health plans may be able to save millions...in the same class as Claritin, limiting patients...
- Over-the-Counter Claritin Will Cost More for Many Sufferers of Allergies.
- News wire article from: Boston Globe (Boston, MA) December 10, 2002 700+ words
...99, and five tablets of Claritin D for $7.99, or 10 for $12.99. Claritin's shift to over-the-counter status should save health plans like Blue Cross, Tufts...millions of dollars annually. Claritin has been one of the nation...
- Claritin to Debut over Counter.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News December 11, 2002 700+ words
...Business News Dec. 11--When Claritin becomes available without...patient didn't get relief with Claritin, Aetna spokeswoman Karen...reporting changes at other health plans, including increases in co...Immunology. "For people for whom Claritin didn't work -- and no medications...
- FDA Grants Over-the-Counter Status to Allergy Drug Claritin.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News November 28, 2002 700+ words
...over-the-counter Claritin may exceed co-payments...prescription plans. Claritin is manufactured by Schering...beyond the pharmacy. Health plans may be able to save millions...in the same class as Claritin, limiting patients...
- Will You Sneeze At Costly Claritin?(Final)
- Newspaper article from: Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, NM) December 13, 2002 700+ words
...shelves of drugstores Thursday. Claritin is the first nonsedating antihistamine...starts next spring, most Claritin users will find the drug more...major New Mexico commercial health plans will stop paying for Claritin now that it is no longer a...
- Demand for Claritin in Albuquerque, N.M., Likely to Rise during Allergy Season.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News December 13, 2002 700+ words
...shelves of drugstores Thursday. Claritin is the first nonsedating antihistamine...starts next spring, most Claritin users will find the drug more...major New Mexico commercial health plans will stop paying for Claritin now that it is no longer a...
- Claritin makers waging an ad campaign to shift patients to Clarinex.
- Newspaper article from: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Wolfson, Bernard J. August 12, 2002 700+ words
...nonsedating antihistamine, Claritin, from its list of preferred...patients can shift suddenly as health plans and pharmaceutical companies...Plough also makes top-selling Claritin, whose patent expires in...sold $3.2 billion worth of Claritin last year, a third of its...
- Intergroup sneezes at Claritin.(Intergroup Arizona Inc.'s replacement of the...
- Magazine article from: The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun Gonzales, Angela April 30, 1999 700+ words
...medications. Not only Claritin." This is important...he said. Barela said health plans resent that pharmaceutical...is not unique to the Claritin makers," Barela said...years ago. The reason health plans didn't complain is...
- Access to Allergy Drug Claritin to Ease.
- News wire article from: Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, CA) July 8, 2002 700+ words
...pollution-induced allergies, Claritin's future status would...reality, the news is mixed. Claritin, which combats allergy...Noting that the price of Claritin is expected to drop with the change, some health plans already are restricting...
Source: HighBeam Research, Claritin switch has deeper implications. (Merchandising).