CVS class action claims store’s phenylephrine products ineffective according to FDA

CVS class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Cathy Kleiman filed a class action lawsuit against CVS Health Corp..
• Why: The plaintiff alleges that CVS sold a phenylephrine sinus drug that was not effective.
• Where: The CVS phenylephrine class action was filed in federal court in South Carolina.

CVS is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that the phenylephrine drug sold at its stores under the “CVS Health” label was ineffective.

The CVS phenylephrine class action comes after a board that advises the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that oral phenylephrine is not effective to combat nasal decongestion.

The board’s recommendation next goes to the FDA, which could start the process to remove oral phenylephrine as a drug it recommends as safe and effective.

Overall, 242 million packages or bottles of phenylephrine products were sold in the United States in 2022, resulting in $1.76 billion in sales, according to the CVS class action filed by Plaintiff Cathy Kleiman.

“Defendant has a history of defrauding customers through their deceptive medicinal sales and marketing practices,” the CVS class action says. “In 2015, similar drugs were noted to be ineffective.Instead of telling the truth, defendant chose to keep touting the drugs as effective.”

Phenylephrine became popular as pseudoephedrine moved behind pharmacy countain due to use in meth, lawsuit says

Phenylephrine drugs became more popular in the early 2000s as pseudoephedrine drugs were moved behind the counter at pharmacies due to their use in manufacturing methamphetamine, according to the CVS phenylephrine class action.

But the phenylephrine drugs were not effective for 15 years but they remained popular as consumers had to choose whether to wait in a pharmacy line to obtain the pseudoephedrine-based products or buy the phenylephrine-based products from the store shelves.

“As one does when sick, many consumers, including plaintiff, opted for the phenylephrine-based products,” the CVS class action says. “The consumers opted for these drugs specifically because the drugs were marketed as safe and effective and were readily accessible.”

Have you purchased cold or cough medicine from CVS that included phenylephrine? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Roy T. Willey, IV, Paul J. Doolittle and Blake G. Abbott of Poulin Willey Anastopoulo LLC. 

The CVS class action lawsuit is Kleiman v. CVS Health Corp., Case No. 2:23-cv-04727-RMG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Walgreens class action claims store’s decongestant medicine contains ingredient the FDA has deemed ineffective
• Eli Lilly files 10 lawsuits over diabetes drug counterfeits, compounds
• Class action alleges Mucinex, Alka-Seltzer ineffective following FDA determination
• P&G class action claims Vicks PE products ineffective following FDA report