"When many cures are offered for a disease, it means the disease is not curable" -Anton Chekhov
''Once you tell people there's a cure for something, the more likely they are to pressure doctors to prescribe it.'' -Robert Ehrlich, drug advertising executive.
"Opinions are like sphincters, everyone has one." - Chris Rangel
Claritin is going over-the-counter, but don't worry, Schering is already pushing it's prescription alternative, Clarinex. This new one has only been out on the market for two months and already I have had the managed care pharmacy, Caremark calling to ask me to switch my patients from Allegra and Zyrtec to Clarinex. Caremark is predisposed to using Schering products. No doubt it has cut a deal with them for lower prices, but I'm wary of using new drugs without adequate safety information. Once upon a time, the FDA could be relied on to confirm a drug's safety before approving it, but no longer. Too many drugs have had to be recalled for deadly side effects in the past ten years. (Some examples: Baycol, Duract, Redux, Posicor, Rezulin, the Rotavirus vaccine). My advice is wait until a drug has been on the market for a few years before you trust it. posted by Sydney on
3/09/2002 12:38:00 PM
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