Pfizer/UCB battle with S-P over Zyrtec

Schering-Plough, the maker of the antihistamine Claritin (loratadine),says that a US federal court has ordered Pfizer and Belgium's UCB Pharma to refrain from stating or implying that their antihistamine Zyrtec (cetirizine), is non-sedating or essentially non-sedating, either in writing or orally. Any violation of the injunction may result in a finding of contempt.

The preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York stems from a 1998 lawsuit that S-P filed against the two companies about how they promote Zyrtec, which alleges that Pfizer and UCB broke a settlement made in 1996 by promoting Zyrtec as a non-sedating product. The latter's US sales increased 20% in the first quarter of 2000 to $151 million.