Over-the-counter status for Claritin considered to treat hives

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration will decide Monday whether to recommend making the popular allergy drug Claritin available over the counter to treat hives.

An advisory committee recommended making it available over the counter for allergies last summer. However, the FDA has yet to act on that recommendation. The agency is expected to make a decision by the end of November.

The FDA usually goes along with what its advisory committees recommend, although it is not required to do so.

No medication for hives is available without a prescription. The same dosage of Claritin to treat hives is used for allergies, and it would be impossible to stop consumers from taking the drug as an allergy remedy if it was sold over the counter.

An FDA advisory panel deemed Claritin safe to sell over the counter last year. Changing its status likely would bring the cost of the drug down considerably. Insurance companies, however, would no longer have to pay for the drug once it's available without a prescription.

Claritin's maker, Schering-Plough Corp., is supporting over-the-counter status. "The proposed conversion of Claritin to [over-the-counter] status represents a strategic business and medical decision," the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company said in a statement.

In an unprecedented move to cut prescription costs, managed-care company WellPoint Health Networks Inc. petitioned the FDA to make three popular antihistamines, including Claritin, available without a prescription.

Claritin is sold without a prescription in 33 countries as an allergy remedy.

In Canada, a month's supply costs about $11 without a prescription compared with an average $17 monthly co-payment for insured U.S. patients, who also must pay for doctors' visits.