CPMP advises approval of S-P's desloratadine

The Committee for Propriety Medicinal Products of the European MedicinesEvaluation Agency has recommended approval of Schering-Plough's non-sedating antihistamine desloratadine 5mg tablets as a once-daily treatment for the symptoms of chronic idiopathic urticaria or hives. Desloratadine, the follow-up to S-P's Claritin (loratadine) product, is currently marketed in the European Union as Aerius and Neoclarityn for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. The drug has also received an approvable letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for SAR, and separate marketing applications have been submitted in the USA, where it is known as Clarinex, for the treatment of CIU and allergic rhinitis.