FDA Pulls 500 Cold & Allergy Drugs From Market
The Food and Drug Administration is removing about 500 unapproved cold and allergy medications from the market, as part of a crackdown on ineffective prescription medication.
The FDA requires companies to submit all new prescription drugs for scientific review before they are launched. However, thousands of drugs actually predate the FDA's drug regulations and have escaped scrutiny for decades.
Most of the drugs targeted by the latest action are pills using untested combinations of decongestant and cough-suppressing ingredients. Since most Americans buy their cold medicines over the counter, the prescription medicines cited by the FDA represent a small portion of the market.
The agency said manufactures who have not registered their products with the agency must halt production and shipments immediately.
For a complete list of the drugs being pulled by the FDA, click here.
