At an FDA advisory committee meeting last May, Schering-Plough Corp. 's CMO and SVP, medical affairs, Robert Spiegel, MD testified that changing Claritin (loratadine) from prescription to OTC status would pose a "major health risk." He went on to say that the drug company "strongly believe[d] that loratadine should be a prescription medication."
What a difference ten months make. In March 2002, Schering announced that it had made a "strategic business and medical...