By Tom Murphy
CVS Health is pulling from its shelves some cough-and-cold treatments that contain an ingredient that has been deemed ineffective by doctors and researchers.
The drug store chain said it will remove a small number of oral decongestants that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient. CVS also said it will still sell “many other oral cough and cold products to meet consumer needs.”
A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate on how many products will be removed when contacted by The Associated Press Friday morning.
CVS Health runs more than 9,000 stores in the United States. Representatives of its national rival, Walgreens, has not pulled any products.
A Walgreens spokeswoman said the company is monitoring the situation and partnering with its clinical integrity office and suppliers “on appropriate next steps.”
U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously last month against the effectiveness of phenylephrine, which is found in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other medications stocked on store shelves.
The FDA had asked its outside advisers to examine the long-questioned drug ingredient. Studies conducted in the past few years by the drugmakers Merck and Johnson & Johnson have shown no difference between phenylephrine medications and placebos for relieving congestion.
The FDA, which has not acted on the recommendation of its advisers, said the drug appears more effective when applied directly to the nose, in sprays or drops. Those products are not under review.
Phenylephrine had become the main drug in over-the-counter decongestants when medicines with an older ingredient — pseudoephedrine — were moved behind pharmacy counters. A 2006 law had forced the move because pseudoephedrine can be illegally processed into methamphetamine.
Those original versions of Sudafed and other medicines remain available without a prescription.
The CVS Health announcement comes shortly before another cold-and-flu season starts in the United States as winter sets in. Last year, an unusually fast start to the season led to shortages of Children’s Tylenol and other medications customers can purchase over-the-counter, or without a prescription.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
