Allergy-drug sales surge as yellow haze descends

These are the times that try men's nasal passages.

Spring is the onset of allergy season, when Americans run to the store for medicine to ease their runny noses, teary eyes and other symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis -- better known as hay fever.

The drill at Wake Forest Drug is to have 50 percent to 60 percent more allergy drugs on hand, both prescription medications and the over-the-counter variety, to serve the rheumy masses this time of year.

"As the yellow haze begins to descend upon us, the pine pollen, that's when people start coming in," said Scott Townsend, pharmacist and co-owner of the Wake Forest pharmacy.

Access to potent allergy drugs has become easier for wheezing consumers as over-the-counter versions of top-selling prescription drugs Claritin and Zyrtec have hit the market. And the extra competition, including store brands whose ingredients mimic the name brands, is keeping prices down.

Drug makers roll out promotions and coupons this time of year to boost interest. And some health insurers are providing financial incentives that encourage customers to seek nonprescription relief.

Even so, sales of prescription allergy and asthma drugs nationwide rose 17 percent last year, according to market research firm Verispan.

That's a bright spot in the pharmaceutical industry, which is struggling with slowing sales and increasing generic competition.

Sales of over-the-counter allergy drugs doubled in 2003 -- when sales were spurred by the introduction of over-the-counter Claritin. The total value of sales has flattened since then, according to Kline & Co., a market research and management consulting firm.

But the sales volume is climbing, said Laura Mahecha, industry manager for health care at Kline. With the growing popularity of over-the-counter allergy drugs and intense price competition, people can buy more for less, she said.

Another spike in sales is expected this year thanks to Zyrtec, which became available without a prescription in January.

"It's hard for people to turn on the TV or flip through a magazine without seeing Zyrtec," said Scott Porter, who buys over-the-counter health products for Raleigh-based Kerr Drug.

Experience shows that could be a shot in the arm for competing drugs as well. "New customers will enter the category," he said.

The introduction of nonprescription Zyrtec already has had a big impact, said Ron Smith, vice president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state's largest health insurer. He credits Zyrtec's debut for a 25 percent drop in allergy drug prescriptions among customers in January and February compared to a year earlier.

Blue Cross encouraged that shift by mailing a pair of $5 coupons to 50,000 customers who take antihistamines.

Smith says customers can save money by going with OTC or generic prescription drugs because the average co-pay for a name brand antihistamine is $40 to $50. Blue Cross requires higher co-pays on name-brand drugs, such as antihistamines, that have strong OTC or generic alternatives.

Miserable spring

Andrea Hunnicutt Grater's allergies are so severe that she gets allergy shots year-round, but she still pops pills "just to take the edge off" when her symptoms are at their worst. Grater, a vice president at IBD Insurance Services, alternates between prescription and OTC medications.

At this time of year, "my eyes are always irritated," she said. "I wear contacts and by [midafternoon] my computer screen starts getting blurry. I talk to a lot of clients, and I start getting hoarse at the end of the day."