GlaxoSmithKline is seeing a "leveling off of the impact" of Chantix on sales of its behind-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) amid concerns about the safety of the smoking cessation drug.

Although four million people have tried GlaxoSmithKline's OTC weight loss drug Alli during its first year on the market, preliminary sales figures are "pretty underwhelming," one analyst tells the Associated Press.

The FDA needs to see additional data from Merck before approving an OTC version of the drugmaker's cholesterol-lowering drug Mevacor (lovastatin).

GlaxoSmithKline should be finished transitioning the media planning and buying for its North American OTC business by the end of February, a spokesperson for the drugmaker said.

An FDA advisory panel has rejected Merck's bid to sell the cholesterol-lowering drug Mevacor without a prescription.

UK-based cleaning products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser announced Monday that it has agreed to buy US OTC drug maker Adams Respiratory Therapeutics for $2.3 billion.

GlaxoSmithKline will buy the rights to market Merck's cholesterol-lowering drug Mevacor (lovastatin) over-the-counter (OTC) in the US, pending FDA approval. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The FDA said today it has approved Zyrtec-D (cetirizine HCl 5 mg and pseudoephedrine HCl 120 mg) as an OTC product for adults and children 12 years of age and older.

The Food and Drug Administration flagged potential cardiovascular risks with AstraZenecas Nexium and its predecessor, Prilosec, but said it has not yet established an increased risk and discouraged doctors and patients from discontinuing use of the drugs.

German drugmaker Bayer is in talks with the FDA about marketing a low-dose version of the cholesterol drug Pravachol to consumers in the US without a prescription, Bloomberg News reports.