In this Issue

In April, the Food and Drug Administration granted approval to Pfizer’s Inflectra (infliximab) — a biosimilar of Janssen’s Remicade and possibly the second biosimilar to be launched in the United States. But like the first biosimilar, Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), Inflectra is subject to a 180-day waiting period before launch, and is currently facing opposition from Janssen, which claims Remicade’s patent doesn’t expire until 2018.

GSK Consumer Healthcare is challenging the common misconception that migraines are just a “bad headache” by creating the world’s first augmented reality migraine simulator.

Each year, as many as 12 million sets of parents come home to find their children frantically scratching their heads due to a head lice infestation. And that incidence appears to be on the rise, as sales of parasite treatments were up 7.3% to $163.7 million for the 52 weeks ended May 15 across total U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI data.

GSK Consumer Healthcare’s Flonase allergy remedy was the single greatest generator of incremental dollars for the 52 weeks ended May 15 across total U.S. multi-outlets, according to IRI data, with $345.2 million in sales on 209.9% growth. The question headed into its second year on OTC shelves is can it maintain its momentum now that private-label competition for Flonase has reached store shelves.

In the next 10 years, the retail landscape will look and feel much different than it does today. “You’re going to be looking at a world that, instead of [retail] channels, there will be points of influence and methods of fulfillment,” Bryan Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer at Kantar Retail, said during a two-day drug channel workshop Kantar hosted in May. “Where can I influence shoppers irrespective of where the buying takes place, and how do I fulfill that in a way where I can still keep my operations efficient and make money?”

Lip color is the sexy part of the category — especially the onslaught of dark hues and glossy finishes dominating the market. But the real growth right now is in treatments. Whether it’s the drying effect of the new matte finishes or just abuse from the weather, lips are in need of moisturizing.

More vitamins, minerals and supplements were sold online so far in 2016 than have been sold through a Walmart store, TABS Analytics reported earlier this year. According to the TABS Analytics analysis, $2 billion in VMS products were sold online vs. $1.7 billion at Walmart, $1.3 billion at Costco and $1.2 billion at CVS Pharmacy.

The window of opportunity to influence an OTC product purchase today is shrinking fast as more shoppers turn to the Internet on their desktops or smartphones to research their health conditions, WebMD’s Jennifer Willey, VP consumer strategy and partnerships, shared with Drug Store News.