Study: Finances drives rise of OTC drugs

BOSTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Boston researchers say that switching prescription drugs for over-the-counter medicines is sometimes driven by financial, not medical, issues.

A team from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, University School of Medicine, in an article in this week's edition of the British Medical Journal, said such switches are increasingly common.

The team says such activity is driven by pharmaceutical firms' desire to expand their market, attempts to reduce drug bills and the self care movement.

Generally, a prescription drug becomes a candidate for over-the-counter availability if it is used for a non-chronic condition that is relatively easy to self-diagnose and has low potential for harm from abuse.

By way of exception, though, the team noted that although concerns have been raised that the main motive behind the British government's decision to allow simvastatin to be sold directly to the public is to save National Health Service costs, that is unlikely because high risk patients will still be eligible for statins on prescription.