"Bought it during a cold"... 'Pancol A' on the verge of being banned in the U.S., what about domestically?

Sigh... I bought this at GS.

I couldn't go to the hospital on my day off, so I bought something from the convenience store...

I didn't know there was such an issue.

The FDA states that it is effective in relieving nasal congestion, but when taken orally, an adequate amount is not delivered.

They said they will make a final decision on whether to discontinue sales after a six-month public consultation period.

It has not yet been decided whether to suspend sales.

It seems that the effectiveness of cold medicine is not perfect.

It seems better to get a prescription from the hospital and take the medication whenever possible.

 

Dongwha Pharmaceutical 'Pancol A'. Provided by Dongwha Pharmaceutical.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing the removal of phenylephrine as it has been found ineffective as a decongestant for cold medicines, our government has also begun a comprehensive review of medications containing the same ingredient.

On the 7th (local time), the U.S. FDA announced that it proposed to remove phenylephrine from the list of over-the-counter (OTC) medications for oral use to treat nasal congestion.

Phenylephrine is a component commonly used to relieve nasal congestion caused by allergic rhinitis or colds, and it was approved as a medication 30 years ago.

It is also widely used as over-the-counter medicines that can be easily purchased at supermarkets or pharmacies without a doctor's prescription.

According to the FDA, cold medicines containing phenylephrine sold 242 million units in the United States alone in 2022, generating sales of $1.76 billion (approximately 2.3 trillion Korean won).

The FDA will make a final decision on whether to discontinue sales after a six-month public consultation period.

Therefore, our government and the domestic pharmaceutical industry are also closely monitoring the situation.

Recently, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (hereafter referred to as KFDA) has been strengthening monitoring of oral cold remedies containing phenylephrine by examining overseas regulatory statuses.

Currently available oral cold medicines in Korea that contain phenylephrine include ▲Dongwha Pharmaceutical's 'Pancol A' ▲Kolon Pharmaceutical's 'Komisyrup' ▲Daewoo Pharmaceutical's 'Kovensyrup' ▲GSK's 'TeraFlu Night Time Dry Syrup' from the UK.

The cold medicines sold as over-the-counter drugs at convenience stores are 'Panpyrin' by Dong-A Pharmaceutical and 'Pancol A' by Donghwa Pharmaceutical.

If the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety bans the use of phenylephrine, the only cold medicine available for purchase at convenience stores will be Panpirin.

The official from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We are continuously monitoring the overseas regulatory status and plan to conduct a comprehensive review of domestic phenylephrine cold medicines based on usage experience and expert opinions."

<Source: Segye Ilbo>