Sanofi-Aventis has reaffirmed its commitment to pharmacy despite a move to take Telfast (fexofenadine) into supermarkets.
The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) will consider allowing open access to some of the antihistamine range at its October meeting.
Sanofi-Aventis has applied to the committee requesting exemption of five-day, low dose (60mg and 120mg) packs of Telfast from scheduling. The application was initially considered at the committee's June meeting but a decision was deferred until the October 2009 meeting to allow evaluation of additional data.
Sanofi-Aventis has defended the application, saying it sough to give hayfever allergy sufferers seeking immediate, short-term, emergency relief from symptoms greater access to the drug outside standard pharmacy trading hours.
"Hayfever (seasonal allergic rhinitis) is an extremely common and debilitating condition. Symptoms are generally at their worse early morning or late evenings when pollen counts are highest. The application sought to give sufferers greater ease of access to Telfast at these more challenging times of the day to help them maintain control of their condition," the manufacturer said.
"In the event that the application was successful, pharmacy would remain (and still remains) the primary port of call for allergy sufferers providing counsel, treatment advice and support particularly for the newly diagnosed, long-term sufferers and children. The comprehensive Telfast range will continue to actively support pharmacy in this critical role."
Telfast has been a Pharmacy Only medicine for the last decade.