Cold and flu medication together with NyQuil sit on a store shelf in Miami on Sept. 12, 2023.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
CVS is eradicating a few of the most typical cough and cold medicines from its store shelves and can not promote them, an organization spokesperson advised CNBC on Thursday.
The firm’s determination comes a month after a panel of advisors to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously decided that the primary ingredient utilized in many in style over-the-counter cold and allergy drugs doesn’t actually work to clear up congested noses when taken orally.
The FDA has not determined whether or not to ask drug producers and retailers comparable to CVS to take away merchandise containing oral phenylephrine — a nasal decongestant present in variations of medication comparable to NyQuil, Benadryl, Sudafed and Mucinex — from the market.
However, CVS is voluntarily eradicating certain cough and cold medicines that comprise phenylephrine as the one energetic ingredient from shops.
CVS is conscious of the willpower made by the FDA advisors and can observe instructions from the company to be sure that merchandise bought on the firm’s shops adjust to legal guidelines and laws, the spokesperson stated. They added that CVS shops will proceed to provide different oral cough and cold merchandise to meet affected person wants.
Oral merchandise that record phenylephrine as its solely energetic ingredient embrace Sudafed PE, which is marketed by Johnson & Johnson’s shopper well being spinoff Kenvue. Kenvue didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark about CVS’s determination.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on CVS’ determination Thursday.
Pulling oral phenylephrine from the market fully might have an effect on CVS and different retail pharmacy chains, which rake in income from promoting over-the-counter cold and allergy tablets.
Retail shops within the U.S. bought 242 million bottles of medication containing phenylephrine final 12 months, up 30% from 2021, in accordance to knowledge compiled by FDA workers. Those bottles generated $1.8 billion in gross sales final 12 months, the information stated.
Without oral phenylephrine, sufferers can even possible be pressured to hunt down liquid and spray variations of the medication or fully new drugs, which weren’t included within the evaluate by the FDA advisors.
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