In this Issue

For the year ended May 2016, specialty medicines made up 36% of all drug spend, according to IMS Health data. And for the year-to-date as of May, specialty spending growth was at 23% — outpacing the 7.8% YTD spending growth that traditional medicines saw in the same time period.

Between its recently announced partnership with IMA North America and its Pharmacy Operations Symposium, held in April in concert with Binghamton University’s Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE) — Innovation has had a busy year. And according to EVP global business development Doyle Jensen, there are numerous new projects that are ongoing at Innovation, as the company is expanding its solutions to help increase pharmacy efficiency, accuracy and inventory management.

Kimberly-Clark’s Liz Metz (center)

The first step to making an impact in a customer’s life, according to Kimberly-Clark’s senior director of shopper engagement Liz Metz, is understanding what they want from their shopping experience.

Consumers with diabetes spend 35% more on OTC products than the average consumer, noted Jeff Gregori, group VP consumer and shopper analytics for Nielsen, during a recent presentation at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo. “That’s hands down more than any other ailment,” he said, and it’s because they face so many challenges beyond their initial diagnosis.

As the company behind Purell hand sanitizer, Gojo’s “big, hairy, audacious goal,” as described by the company’s VP hygiene sciences and public health advancements Jim Arbogast, is to “bring well-being to 1 billion people every day.” And the company’s strategy for how retailers can help with that goal is based on extensive research Gojo has done about how best to provide hand hygiene touchpoints.

Pharmacy and food retailers take note: As health-and-wellness consumers, Americans need you now more than ever. That was the message from health economist and futurist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn at a June 15 seminar on retail health care, the aging population and new trends impacting health delivery. The event, held in Bentonville, Ark., and co-hosted by Drug Store News and Mack Elevation Forum, gave retail leaders, health stakeholders and other experts a rare opportunity to explore the major trends driving the retail health movement.

Quest Products is looking to break onto the external analgesic scene with CopperFixx, a balm that combines the analgesic properties associated with copper and arnica. “Copper has always been known to help relieve the aches and pains of certain afflictions,” said Don Ryan, president and CEO of Quest Products. “Until now, no one had figured out how to produce it in a consumer-friendly form.”

At Abbott Nutrition, “it all starts with consumer empathy,” the company’s director of insights, innovation and brand strategy, Surya Menon, told attendees at the Retail Health Summit. By helping the company understand a patient’s head space when making a purchase, this starting point is aimed at ensuring they can meet consumer needs at the best time.