US health chief--OK to sell some allergy drugs OTC

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US health chief--OK to sell some allergy drugs OTC

WASHINGTON, Feb 06 (Reuters) - US Health and Human Services Secretary

Tommy on Wednesday said some widely used prescription allergy

drugs should be made available over the counter, a move the drugs'

makers oppose.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), part of 's department,

has been considering whether to switch three

antihistamines--Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin, Pfizer Inc.'s Zyrtec

and Aventis SA's Allegra--to nonprescription status.

Asked whether Claritin and similar anti-allergy drugs should be sold

over the counter, said " some of them. "

" I think we've got to loosen it, relax it, " told reporters in

response to questions about the drugs' status.

" I'm making a lot of progress " on the issue, he added.

spoke after testifying at a congressional hearing.

WellPoint Health Networks Inc., one of the nation's largest managed care

companies, petitioned the FDA to switch the drugs to over-the-counter

status. Such a change would save the firm millions of dollars a year by

shifting the drugs' cost to patients.

The allergy drug makers oppose a switch. The companies argue in part

that patients may not be able to distinguish allergies from other

conditions without seeing a doctor.

All three drugs are big sellers, with Claritin alone generating sales of

about $3 billion a year. Companies typically make lower profits when

products are sold without a prescription.

In May 2001, an FDA advisory panel ruled that the three drugs were safe

enough to be sold without a prescription.