US manufacturers resist moves to sell drugs over the counter

An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted overwhelmingly that three allergy remedies—loratadine, cetirizine, and fexofenadine—are safe enough to be bought at pharmacies and supermarkets without a doctor's prescription. But the manufacturers of the drugs are resisting the idea.

Loratadine and cetirizine are already available over the counter in the United Kingdom (as Clarityn and Zirtek respectively), provided that the packs do not contain more than 10 days' supply of the drug. Fexofenadine, marketed in the United Kingdom as Telfast and in the United …