HEALTH

The opportunity for weight loss certainly hasn’t gone away — sales of diet-aid liquids were up 12.8% to $1.2 billion for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 9 across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI. And due to the temporary absence of GlaxoSmithKline’s Alli — unavailable because of a raw-ingredient sourcing issue — sales of diet-aid tablets are down with a 7% decline to a dollar base of 
$205.4 million. 
Alli had been removed from the market in March due to the third-party supply issue and returned in late June. 


MCHENRY, Ill. — Medela today announced the introduction of Quick Clean Breastmilk Removal Soap designed for cleaning breast pump and breast milk feeding accessories.

Quick Clean Soap is designed specifically to break down the proteins and fats in breast milk and removes breast milk residue up to three days old. The detergent contains no added fragrance or taste that might discourage baby from breastfeeding and is safe and hypoallergenic, the company stated. 

PASADENA, Calif. — Playmaker Nutrition is looking to knock multivitamin sales out of the ballpark with a new gummy line targeting teens and tweens. Of course, with sports-stars-cum-company-founders backing their play, the gummies may appeal to more than just kids. The all-start lineup includes Summer Olympics gold medalist and NBA star Kevin Love, Winter Olympics gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden and Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. — Abbott and its foundation, the Abbott Fund, on Friday announced that $1 million in funding and product donations will be made to support relief efforts in response to Hurricane Sandy. The Abbott Fund grants will be provided to long-standing relief organization partners, including the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Direct Relief International and World Vets. 

Abbott product donations have been made to Direct Relief International and Feeding America.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — A majority of Americans recognize the threat diabetes poses to the nation’s health and have a solid understanding about the disease and its consequences, according to a new survey from UnitedHealth Group released Thursday. 

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Emerson Ecologics, a provider of professional-grade nutritional supplements to practitioners, on Thursday announced its partnership with Douglas Laboratories as its exclusive external distributor for the Klean Athlete line to healthcare practitioners. 

Klean Athlete is a new line of nutritional supplements formulated specifically for athletes to help them achieve optimum health; the complete line is NSF-certified for sport, ensuring that each product has undergone testing and certification to be free of banned substances.

INDIANAPOLIS – Eli Lilly is spending $140 million to expand its insulin manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, the drug maker said.

Lilly said it would expand the plant by 80,000 sq. ft., saying it represented one of the most significant investments in its U.S. manufacturing operations in the past decade. Construction is expected to start immediately, with completion planned for March 2014.

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Nordic Naturals on Wednesday announced the launch of its mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android users. 

“Nordic Naturals is an omega-3 industry leader,” stated Joar Opheim, CEO of Nordic Naturals. “We are pleased to lead the way in offering the convenience of a mobile app to consumers.”