CPM is investigating allegations of deceptive marketing and false advertising against major pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers, including The Procter & Gamble Company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., and Walgreen Co.
Defendants have allegedly misled consumers by promoting, marketing, labeling, and selling over-the-counter, orally administered cold, flu, and sinus medications containing oral phenylephrine. Major pharmaceutical companies have been marketing these products as “Extra Strength” or “Maximum “Strength”; however, recent medical findings demonstrate that oral phenylephrine provides zero actual medical benefit for relieving nasal congestion, causing consumers to pay for completely ineffective medicine.
Allegations Under Investigation
For years, over-the-counter decongestants primarily relied on pseudoephedrine as an active ingredient. Following federal legislation in 2006 that placed pseudoephedrine behind pharmacy counters, manufacturers substituted pseudoephedrine with oral phenylephrine. Today, phenylephrine is present in over 250 over-the-counter products, generating over $1.8 billion in retail sales in 2022 alone.
Despite knowledge of its inefficacy, Defendants continuously promoted and sold these products nationwide. On September 12, 2023, an FDA advisory panel publicly announced after careful review that oral phenylephrine is entirely ineffective as a nasal decongestant. Our investigation focuses on claims that manufacturers and retailers falsely represented these products' efficacy, deceiving consumers into purchasing useless cold and sinus remedies.
Seeking Purchasers of Phenylephrine Cold and Sinus Products
CPM is seeking individuals who purchased “Maximum Strength” or “Extra Strength” products in various states to serve as class representatives in an ongoing class action lawsuit.
Qualifying products include, but are not limited to:
- Advil-branded decongestants: Advil Multi-Symptom, Advil Congestion, Advil Congestion & Pain Relief, or other Advil products containing phenylephrine (Note: Regular Advil pain reliever is not included as it does not contain phenylephrine).
- "Maximum Strength" or "Extra Strength" products: Any over-the-counter oral decongestant explicitly marketed using strength-related terminology that contains phenylephrine.
If you purchased any of these products for personal or household use and are interested in representing the class, please complete the form below to speak with one of our attorneys. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your potential participation and recovery.
