 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / Pharmacy / June 2004Zyrtec Question
Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) 5ml/mg sold OTC in Canada and you can only get the 1ml/mg syrup by presrciption only in the US? Could it be that the pharmecuetical company has an incentive to keep the Canadian children healthy (5ml\mg version) because they lose money on the drug in Canada? Could it be that the company has an incentive to keep Americans coming back for more (1ml/mg version) at $75 a pop? I know the company will never admit to this publicly and will claim that their hands are tied by the FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). Just wanted to get others opinion on this. Logic does not apply when dealing with government regulations! I remember when American's needed a Rx for Dimetapp elixir but it was OTC in Canada. I am sure it is sold the way it is to maximize profit in both countries. See my post about Ambien. Why is it sold in a blister pack of thirty when the FDA itself says hypnotics should generally be limited to 7 to 10 days of use! Is it to promote addiction to Ambien and thus ensure that the patient will continue to take the medication? Does anyone actually pay $75 Cash for Zyrtec syrup or does insurance cover most of the cost? I can't see paying that much for an antihistamine. There are plenty of choices on the market that are not so expensive. > Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this > question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > Just wanted to get others opinion on this. To the contrary. There is much logic behind government regulations. Having worked in government for many years I know this to be true. It is just that the logic is not always in the taxpayer's favor. So, the answer to your question is no - the FDA is not trying to promote an addiction. The FDA is trying to appease the pharm. companies. And if you don't believe it, then just do some additional research - I have. BTW, Although I do not pay $75 for Zyrtec, my copay for Zyrtec is $50 - still very steep when you consider the Canadian version is $11 OTC. > Logic does not apply when dealing with government regulations! I remember > when American's needed a Rx for Dimetapp elixir but it was OTC in Canada. I [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > > Just wanted to get others opinion on this. > Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this > question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) > 5ml/mg sold OTC in Canada and you can only get the 1ml/mg syrup by > presrciption only in the US? Both Reactine and Zyrtec liquids are 1 mg/mL (or equivalently 5 mg/5 mL). There are many examples where the same drug is OTC in Canada or US but Rx in the other country. Naproxen is one example (Rx in Canada, OTC Alleve in the US); terbinafine (Lamisil) is another (Rx in Canada, I've seen it OTC at least in MA). Or why is Tylenol #1 OTC (okay, behind the counter) in Canada but not in the US? So I don't think there's too much to the "conspiracy theory". In most cases I think the respective company has simply decided it was not worth the regulatory hassle to push for OTC in certain markets. If anything, companies would want their products to go OTC because the sales potential of an OTC is much greater. Gregory M. K. Poon, Ph.D., R.Ph., B.Sc.Phm. Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry University of Toronto ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael" <msingletary@nc.rr.com> Newsgroups: sci.med.pharmacy Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 12:54 PM Subject: Zyrtec Question Could it be that the pharmecuetical > company has an incentive to keep the Canadian children healthy (5ml\mg > version) because they lose money on the drug in Canada? Could it be [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > Just wanted to get others opinion on this.  SignatureGregory M. K. Poon, Ph.D., R.Ph., B.Sc.Phm. Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry University of Toronto 19 Russell St., Toronto, ON Canada M5S 2S2 200 College Street, Toronto, ON Canada M5S 3E5 (416) 978-5291/(416) 978-8511 (Fax) > Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this > question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > Just wanted to get others opinion on this. I'm afraid its not that simple. Since you live in Canada, you may not be aware of the profit motives that exists in the US by the pharm. companies. Please review the following link which shows that this particular company is fighting to keep Zyrtec from going OTC. Apparently, they are more concerned about the safety of their customers than making money - yeah, right. http://groups.google.com/groups?q=zyrtec+group:sci.med.pharmacy&start=10&hl=en&l r=&ie=UTF-8&group=sci.med.pharmacy&selm=jYbsa.6577%24hT2.4026075%40news2.news.ad elphia.net&rnum=15 > > Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this > > question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > > Just wanted to get others opinion on this. Okay I see ... speaking of insurance companies, it is not uncommon here to see patients with drug plans to try to get, say, Reactine 20 mg tablets (which are Rx) so that they'll be covered. On the other hand, hydroxyzine (Atarax) which is just about identical to Reactine except for the drowsiness, is very much Rx, although it is also much cheaper than Reactine. The dynamics between the pharmaceutical manufacturers and third party payers can be quite complex indeed. > I'm afraid its not that simple. Since you live in Canada, you may not > be aware of the profit motives that exists in the US by the pharm. > companies. Please review the following link which shows that this > particular company is fighting to keep Zyrtec from going OTC. > Apparently, they are more concerned about the safety of their > customers than making money - yeah, right. http://groups.google.com/groups?q=zyrtec+group:sci.med.pharmacy&start=10&hl=en&l r=&ie=UTF-8&group=sci.med.pharmacy&selm=jYbsa.6577%24hT2.4026075%40news2.news.ad elphia.net&rnum=15 > > > Perhaps this newsgroup is not the appropriate place to ask this > > > question, but I will do so anyway. Why is Zyrtec syrup (Reactin) [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > > FDA (I am sure their lobbyist have nothing to do with FDA decisions). > > > Just wanted to get others opinion on this. I wonder what the official excuse is for the company not wanting to make Zyrtec OTC? They will certainly not admit that Zyrtec is too dangerous to sell without a doctor's prescription. People safely buy OTC generic Claritin without a problem. They will not admit that they can make more money selling Zyrtec on prescription than OTC, even though making money is what a company is all about. Canada may be more logical in its approach to health care pricing. Look at the American Medicare drug discount card scheme. The drug companies raised their wholesale prices on popular drugs to cancel out most of the savings from the discount cards. With no price controls on drugs, the drug companies did exactly what they should have been expected to do. > I'm afraid its not that simple. Since you live in Canada, you may not be aware of the profit motives that exists in the US by the pharm. > companies. Please review the following link which shows that this particular company is fighting to keep Zyrtec from going OTC. > Apparently, they are more concerned about the safety of their customers than making money - yeah, right. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.