Cough-Cold and Flu

HOBOKEN, N.J. — A new study released Wednesday indicates that Genentech's antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) can reduce influenza infections and prevent deaths in a cost-saving manner under most pandemic scenarios.

ATLANTA  — Influenza activity is picking up across the East Coast even as it remains at high levels in central U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Nationwide during the week ended Jan. 28, 3.9% of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) were due to influenza-like illness. This percentage is above the national baseline of 2.2%.

ILI is defined as fever (temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or greater) and cough and/or sore throat.

Overall, the sale of all sleep remedies were up 6.1% to $707.9 million across total U.S. multi-outlets for the 52 weeks ended Nov. 27, 2016, according to IRI. Procter & Gamble’s ZzzQuil still leads the category. Sales of the liquid formulation are outpacing category growth with an uptick of 8.4% to $85.3 million, or 12% of total category sales.

(To view the full Cough-Cold Report, click here.)

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Influenza activity is spreading steadily throughout the central U.S. as Oklahoma and Texas continue to boast the most citizens impacted by influenza-like illnesses, according to the latest Walgreens Flu Index released Thursday.

The Flu Index shows which populations are experiencing the most incidences of influenza each week based on Index methodology.

The top 10 markets for the week of Jan. 29 are:

Last year, Drug Store News projected that GSK Consumer Healthcare’s Flonase allergy franchise would be challenged with the introduction of two new nasal corticosteroids to the market — McNeil Consumer’s Rhinocort and Bayer’s ClariSpray.

(To view the full Cough-Cold Report, click here.)

In the United States, colds account for more visits to the doctor than any other condition, according to the American Lung Association. The common culprit behind spreading rhinovirus, the virus behind as many as 40% of all colds, is children — pediatric patients on average suffer from the symptoms of a cold between six and eight times each year. And given how highly contagious many colds are, that may explain why many adults get sick, too.

While the C/A/S tablet and liquid subcategories have seen little change in sales versus year-ago sales, the UR nasal subcategory saw impressive growth in the channels studied, due in large part to the recent Rx-OTC switch products in the nasal corticosteroid segment, driving sales up 15% in the food industry and up to10% in drug. (see Figure 1).

(To view the full report, click here.)

ATLANTA  — The flu is continuing to impact the United States, especially across the Southeast U.S. for the week ended Jan. 21 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness was 3.4%, well above the national baseline of 2.2% and an increase from the week prior ILI report of 3.2%.