Snot a Problem

Dead of winter isn't allergy prime time, but the arrival of cheap, over-the-counter Claritin will still cheer millions. The price of the drug is expected to fall by 75 percent as its patent expires and drug makers compete (!) to sell the stuff. The first cheapie pills will go on sale this week. Long time coming.

Comments

[Kris Hasson-Jones]

Claritin doesn't do a thing for me; I use another drug, one that the insurance companies are threatening to stop covering (paying for) once Claritin is OTC.

Previously a prescription drug I used went OTC; as a result I am now paying $30 a month instead of the $4 I paid for a month's supply when it was prescription only and therefore covered by my insurance.

[BK]

How come no one has commented on the curious coincidence that, now that the patent has expired and the patent owner can't gouge HMOs anymore, Claritin is suddenly no longer a dangerous enough medication to warrant a prescription?

[JDC]

And more interestingly, most clinical trials of Claritin show it to be no more effective than a sugar pill in almost all cases.