CVS pulls phenylephrine-only drugs from its store shelves

Big changes are coming to your local CVS Health  (CVS) – Get Free Report drug aisle as the company, on the recommendation of doctors and researchers, begins pulling some cough and cold treatments from its store shelves. 

CVS announced that it will be pulling oral decongestants containing phenylephrine as the only active ingredient after scientists have said they proved that the oral version of the ingredient is ineffective for treating cold symptoms. 

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Last month, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel found that phenylephrine — an ingredient found in medications like Sudafed PE, Sinex, Dayquil  and others — found that oral formulations of the drug are ineffective at treating cold and flu symptoms. 

Despite its ineffectiveness at clearing nasal congestion, the FDA says products containing the ingredient generated about $1.8 billion in sales in 2022. 

CVS said that it will continue to sell “many other oral cough and cold products to meet consumer needs” at its more than 9,000 stores across the U.S.

Phenylephrine’s effectiveness has been the subject of much research over the past few years. In addition to the FDA’s review, drug makers Merck  (MRK) – Get Free Report and Johnson & Johnson  (JNJ) – Get Free Report have conducted studies over the past few years showing that there is no difference between phenylephrine medications and placebos for relieving congestion. 

Studies have found that the drug is inactivated when digested in the gut and liver before it reaches the bloodstream.

The drug came into prominence after the 2005 version of the Patriot Act added the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act was signed by President George W. Bush in 2006. 

The act banned over-the-counter sales of cold medicines that contained pseudoephedrine, which was commonly used to make methamphetamine. The law limited the purchase of the drug to behind the counter and limited how much an individual could purchase during a monthly period. 

The law also had the unintended consequence of making the less-effective phenylephrine more prominent in over-the-counter drugs.

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