HEALTH

GoJo is gearing up for the 2012-2013 cough-cold season with a new lineup of Purell hand sanitizers, a factor that breathes new life into a commoditized category. Drug Store News caught up with Tim Cleary, sales VP for Purell Consumer, for the scoop on the relaunch.


DSN: Since H1N1, hand sanitizing has been a very private label-dominated, commoditized category. What is the opportunity for retailers in the current environment?


Clarinex (desloratadine), the next-generation prescription allergy remedy to the second-generation Claritin, is 1-of-3 blockbuster prescription medicines that may make the crossover from prescription-only to over-the-counter in the near future. If so, the medicine may take the podium as one of the four best-selling allergy brands — Zyrtec and Claritin currently top that list, with Allegra, launched last year, beating out all other cough-cold and allergy tablet brands with more than $220 million in sales through December.


A wet spring last year made for ideal allergen-
creating conditions heading into summer 2011 — the growth of ragweed and an increase in mold. According to a Quest Diagnostics study published in 2011, sensitization to common ragweed has grown 15% nationally since 2000, while mold grew 12%. IMS Health projected a strong spring allergy season, especially across the north and northeast.


Some people swear by it. Others doubt it. What’s undeniable, however, is that homeopathic medicine sales were up 15.7% in 2011 to $173 million in natural supermarkets (excluding Whole Foods) and food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to SPINSscan Natural. And with media reports of recalls, dangerous and lethal side effects, counterfeiting and contamination, the homeopathic school of medicine founded by Samuel Hahnemann in 1800 is making a comeback.


PHILADELPHIA — CVS Caremark's chief healthcare strategy officer on Friday outlined how the company's integrated offerings — retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management and retail clinics — are helping patients achieve better health by working to increase medication adherence and targeting behaviors to improve treatment for chronic diseases during a panel discussion at the Wharton Health Care Business Conference.

As of the beginning of February, the cough-cold season had yet to materialize and illness levels were only just beginning to climb. If that’s the case, then an expected illness peak in late February/early March would make the 2011-2012 cough, cold and flu season one of the later-peaking seasons in recent years.


As of Jan. 21, overall incidence of upper respiratory illness this season was down 7.5% according to IMS Health, as compared with the 2010-2011 season.


ATLANTA — DRS Health introduced a line of supplements with their doctors on the box, testament to the fact that almost 80% of all doctors recommend the use of supplements. One of the standout SKUs is the unique H3 Rapid Recovery, a beverage mix formulated to help the body rebuild after surgery, injury or trauma. It’s a supplement with unique tie-in potential at the pharmacy counter with post-surgical medicines and in-line with the braces assortment. Sales of all supplements were up 5.8% for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 24 across food, drug and mass, according to Nielsen.


Asthma has been becoming more relevant in the nonprescription aisles of late. Even as Armstrong Pharmaceuticals phases out what was an almost $100 million-and-growing brand in Primatene Mist 
— the Food and Drug Administration has removed any inhalers containing 
chlorofluorocarbons from the market — homeopathic supplier King Bio is currently presenting an alternative in its AsthmaCare product.