New Products

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug made by Exelixis for treating thyroid cancer, the agency said.

The FDA announced the approval of Cometriq (cabozatinib) to treat medullary thyroid cancer — a cancer that develops in cells in the thyroid gland that make calcitonin, a hormone that helps maintain a healthy level of calcium in the blood — that has spread to other parts of the body. Another drug to treat medullary thyroid cancer, AstraZeneca's Caprelsa (vandetanib), was approved last year.

SHAWNEE, Kan. — Bayer HealthCare's animal-health division has introduced a new spray for killing ticks in cats and dogs, the company said.

The company debuted Resultix at the opening of BarkWorld Expo, a pet social media conference in Atlanta that took place on Oct. 26.

The spray is designed to dissolve the outer wax layer that covers the tick's cuticle, its hard shell, resulting in the parasite's uncontrollable water loss and death within three hours.

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo is planning a controversial line of products under its FritoLay brand. The new line, called Cracker Jack’d, is a caffeinated extension of its Cracker Jack line of popcorn clusters and is expected to hit shelves by the end of the 
fourth quarter.


The line extension is expected to include a caffeinated snack called Power Bites, which will contain approximately 70 mg of caffeine from coffee in each 2-oz. package. Snack mixes and popcorn clusters also will be included in the lineup.

SUPPLIER NEWS — MediSafe Project has launched what it called the first cloud-synced mobile app to help prevent emergencies caused by over- or under-dosing medications. 


NCR Corp. is partnering with health kiosk maker SoloHealth to provide on-site repairs to its interactive consumer healthcare kiosks at retailers as SoloHealth rolls them out around the country. The stations provide screenings for vision, blood pressure, weight, symptoms checking, body mass index and overall health.


RETAILER NEWS — Walgreens launched Ology, a nationally accessible and affordable brand formulated to be free of harmful chemicals. Exclusive to Walgreens’ family of companies, the Ology brand features a line of household cleaners, as well as baby and personal care products. 


New applications based on advances in telemedicine and mobile health technology are proliferating as pharmacy providers, physicians and health plans find new ways to connect with patients who are homebound or in remote locations. The result is to extend access to care, improve convenience and lower health delivery costs.


SUPPLIER NEWS — Valeant Consumer Products recently announced that its line of Ocean Saline Nasal Sprays have been the most recommended by pharmacists for 15 years running. 


Ocean offers nonmedicated relief from dry and irritated nasal passages due to allergies, colds, flu, sinusitis and rhinitis. The nasal spray is gentle enough for infants and has three delivery options — standing the bottle upright delivers a spray; horizontally, a stream; and upside-down, a drop. 


SUPPLIER NEWS — Not Your Mother’s hair care is further expanding its distribution by adding Ricky’s NYC to its retail mix.


As of mid-November, Ricky’s NYC had brought in Not Your Mother’s full line of hair care in all its retail stores, as well as its online store. There are more than 11,500 retail locations in the United States currently selling Not Your Mother’s.