New research bucks common perceptions surrounding Rx-to-OTC switches

Using a new research paradigm that, for the first time, integrates prescription and over-the-counter drug data, Wolters Kluwer Health and The Nielsen Company have released the results of a joint study that go against conventional thinking about the dynamics when a prescription drug switches to OTC.

The Nielsen-Wolters Kluwer Health study, entitled Consumer Behavior and Managed Care Impact of the Zyrtec (cetirizine) Rx-to-OTC Switch, reveals that, in the USA, a full 84% of the people who switched to the anti-allergy treatment Zyrtec OTC were sourced from other OTC products rather than from other prescription medicines as many had expected.

In fact, of all people who migrated to Zyrtec OTC from other allergy therapies, only 6% were former prescription Zyrtec users. Furthermore, only 27% of prescription patients using this drug "followed the molecule" and switched to Zyrtec OTC.