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Drug companies seek permission for nonprescription cholesterol drug

BETHESDA, Md. - Many people would take a cholesterol drug offered over the counter even though they don't meet the medical criteria, federal health advisers were told Thursday.

The cholesterol drug Mevacor has long been available by prescription. Drug companies are now asking the Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell a low-dose version directly to consumers for the first time.

The advisory committee meets through today and will make a recommendation to the FDA.

Allowing over-the-counter sales for Mevacor would put a new sort of medication on drugstore shelves. Unlike treatments for coughs, colds and allergies, Mevacor is meant to prevent future heart disease, rather than treat existing symptoms. And while a cough or cold is apparent, the only way to know one's cholesterol level is to be tested.

Drug companies say selling Mevacor over the counter would help provide needed treatment to millions of Americans who are at moderate risk of heart disease or need to lower their cholesterol but are not taking helpful drugs.

Opponents worry that patients will skip necessary doctor visits, where they might get important advice about diet and exercise. There also are questions about whether consumers will accurately determine whether the drug is right for them.

LOS ANGELES - Rescuers organized an airlift Thursday to take food and medical supplies to about 135 people cut off for at least four days by flooding in the mountains above Los Angeles.

"We're running out of food, so when we get our food shipped in, it should keep the edge off things," Lt. Tim Dowling of the volunteer fire department in the stranded community of Follows Camp said.

The storm-swollen San Gabriel River washed out three bridges around Follows Camp, in the Angeles National Forest.

The helicopter team flew out a heart patient needing special medication and a 10-year-old boy.

In La Conchita, authorities ended the search for victims of a mudslide and warned residents not to return to the town because of the danger of another collapse.

The search for more victims ended after radar found no pockets in the muck where people might have taken shelter.

Authorities estimated that 400,000 tons of mud fell on the community and 1.3-million tons remained on the unstable hillside. The death toll is 10; everyone listed as missing has been located.