HEALTH

NEW YORK — Everybody talks about “Health & Wellness” and “Product Innovation.” But what do those words actually mean to the consumer?

Awareness around the benefits of krill oil versus fish oil — being just as effective with a lesser amount and the possibility that krill oil may leave more EPA and DHA in the body to be absorbed, according to two clinicals published in 2011 — may be a hot topic in 2012. The revitalized Schiff company will be increasing its support of its MegaRed krill oil supplement to as much as 24% of sales in 2012. And Pharmavite in 2011 launched its NatureMade Krill Oil as a new source of omega-3 fatty acids coupled with the antioxidant astaxanthin.

The market for meal replacement ready-to-drink shakes is expanding beyond the need for a shake-shake-sensible-meal diet plan, or the need for a protein booster, with a number of niche marketing opportunities.


DANVILLE, Pa. — Geisinger Health System may be the largest employer to discriminate against a declining minority — smokers — beginning Feb. 1.

Geisinger last week announced it will no longer hire job applicants who use tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and chewing or smokeless tobacco.

NEW YORK — Duane Reade continues to raise the bar and reshape how consumers shop consumables at drug stores with its revamped 24-hour location at 52nd Street and Broadway in New York.


To better reflect the needs of the neighborhood, which is brimming largely with tourists and business travelers, Duane Reade transformed the former 3,100-sq.-ft. Duane Reade Express store into a 20,000-sq.-ft. health, beauty and daily living destination.


Diet aids and meal replacement products aren’t the only categories subject to the whims of a supply-chain-busting weight-loss/dieting fad. The American College of Sports Medicine revealed the top trends in fitness and wellness for 2012 in its November/December issue of Health & Fitness Journal.


So relative to pharmacy retailing, following are some of the top fitness trends: 


While the need for weight loss is year-round in a country where 1-out-of-every-3 adults is considered obese, the business of weight loss still is seasonal. The first few weeks of January see a spike from the guilt-laden who had over-indulged during much of the holidays. That demand peters off slightly until just before bikini season in the spring. 


MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Actavis has begun shipping clobetasol propionate shampoo and clobetasol propionate lotion, which were granted 180-day marketing exclusivity by the Food and Drug Administration.

The shampoo and topical lotion are generic equivalents of Galderma's Clobex shampoo and Clobex topical lotion, which have garnered sales of $89.9 million for the 12 months ended in September 2011.