Allegra joins allergy aisle

PARIS — Allegra is less than a week away from reaching shelves on March 4, and with the latest allergy switch will come a significant number of Rx allergy sufferers this summer.


Though the allergy aisle is relatively saturated between Zyrtec, Claritin and private label, allergy consumers certainly are brand loyal, noted Laura Mahecha, Kline Group analyst. Mahecha suggested ongoing annual Allegra sales of between $100 million and $200 million without much cannibalization is realistic — and that’s great news for retailers who recorded almost $400 million in 2010 sales between Zyrtec and Claritin.