CVS Takes Top Cold Medicines Off the Shelves After New FDA Study
CVS is taking some decongestants off the shelf if they only rely on an ingredient a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has said does not work.
CVS said it will yank products in which phenylephrine is listed as the only active ingredient. That includes Sudafed PE, according to CNBC.
“We are removing a small number of oral decongestant products that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient from CVS Pharmacy stores but will continue offering many other oral cough and cold products to meet consumer needs,” a CVS representative said, according to USA Today.
CVS said some products, such as Dayquil, that have more than one active ingredient will remain even if they contain phenylephrine.
Phenylephrine has been used for years but became prominent after a 2006 law clamped down on the use of the ingredient pseudoephedrine, which can be used to make methamphetamine.
Rite Aid said it is not yet following CVS’s lead.
“Our pharmacists are available to provide guidance to customers on over-the-counter solutions for alleviating symptoms associated with colds and other illnesses,” it said in a statement.
HEALTH ALERT: #CVS is pulling some cough and cold medications from the shelves – in the wake of a #FDA warning saying they simply aren’t effective. https://t.co/v4uiXBd1jE
— News12LI (@News12LI) October 20, 2023
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association said the FDA panel’s September opinion was advice only at this point.
“FDA is currently in the process of reviewing the regulatory status of oral phenylephrine (PE) following September’s advisory committee meeting,” CHPA said in a statement, according to ABC.
“Until FDA makes a determination on the committee’s recommendation, oral PE remains a Category 1 OTC ingredient, which is generally recognized as safe and effective,” the group said.
According to the Wall Street Journal the FDA panel said the ingredient is safe, but not effective.
Phenylephrine was first approved for use in 1938, prior to the clinical trials drugs are currently required to undergo. Its effectiveness has been debated for years.
The popular decongestant phenylephrine is not effective, an FDA panel found. Here’s what to use instead.
— Scientific American (@sciam) October 20, 2023
If the FDA says the ingredient should not be used, all products that contain it cannot be sold in the U.S.
However, the process for that includes drafting an order and then having a public comment period.
The complexity of the process means that it could be months or perhaps years before a final decision is reached.
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