Q&A: Optimizing collaboration with GSK Consumer Healthcare's Brian McNamara and Dennis Curran

GSK Consumer Healthcare is hitting the ground running this year at NACDS Annual. They’ve fully incorporated the Novartis OTC brands into their portfolio, as evidenced by the introduction of the Excedrin Migraine Experience launched earlier this month. Also earlier this month, GSK Consumer opened the doors to a state-of-the art 109,000 sq.-ft. headquarters building featuring its Shopper Science Lab, a testing facilitiy designed to optimize collaboration between GSK, the retailer and the consumer. Drug Store News caught up with Brian McNamara, head of Europe and the Americas, and Dennis Curran, chief customer officer, to get their thoughts on what’s happening in the self-care space.

Drug Store News: What trends do you see shaping the business overseas?



Brian McNamara: E-commerce will continue to change the landscape of consumer healthcare. Already it’s contributing to the majority of growth in several categories and in some markets. Major players like Amazon and Alibaba are creating new business models that are pushing and in some cases eliminating the boundaries of traditional and virtual economies as we know them today. In the U.S., retail chains have developed omnichannel strategies so that they can extend their physical  store shelves virtually. At GSK Consumer Healthcare, we’re focused on developing our digital capabilities to support these strategies and the potential for a limitless store shelf that will offer more healthcare products and reach more consumers. 

Another significant trend is the move within the European Union and other markets like Russia to limit some direct-to-consumer advertising and communications for OTC medicines.  We believe it’s important to communicate information about non-prescription products to consumers. It creates awareness about product availability, helps inform their choice and encourages consumers to seek additional information to ensure proper use.  As a science-based company, we also support and comply with established standards on advertising for OTC medicines. We hope strong industry standards that enable fact-based advertising can serve as a role model, especially in the EU, Russia and, of course, the United States, where any restrictions on communicating to consumers would have a negative impact on health care.

 

DSN: What are some of the European trends or best practices?

McNamara: In Europe, pharmacists are a strong extension of the healthcare system. They play an important role dispensing medicines as well as advice on health and healthcare treatments, including OTC products. The majority of European pharmacists tend to be independent and are extremely influential with their patients and consumers. By comparison in the United States, pharmacists have long been just one aspect of the business model pursued by retail drugstore chains. That’s been shifting with healthcare reform. Now more and more U.S. retail drugstore chains are using pharmacists to play a broader and more active role in managing  consumers’ healthcare. They’re setting up in-store clinics and wellness centers and putting pharmacists front and center to consult on medicines, educate and advise on proper use and build stronger, trusting relationships with patients, consumers and the community. Using pharmacists has proven to help deliver better outcomes, which is a win for consumers and the consumer healthcare industry.



DSN: How do you cultivate a partnership mindset among GSK Consumer Healthcare’s retailer partners?



Dennis Curran: I think it all starts with having the mutual goal of best serving our shoppers/customers in everything we do.  When we have plans that deliver great experiences for the shopper, we can grow the category, and in a fragmented industry GROWTH is what is important.  Fortunately, at GSK Consumer Healthcare we have had a strong track record of growth on great brands like Sensodyne, Theraflu, Excedrin, Nicorette, Nicoderm and our newest addition Flonase. If you look at Flonase Allergy Relief … it is a great product that works.  We were able to partner with retailers to introduce the brand in-store and digitally in a manner that had not happened in the Allergy category … and we created the No. 1 launch in the industry ($294 million retail) with more than 87% being incremental to the allergy category.

 

DSN: From a retail partnership perspective, how does a company like GSK Consumer Healthcare prepare, or help set the stage, for an evolving healthcare paradigm where retail pharmacy plays a greater role in shaping health outcomes?



Curran: Understanding the role of retail in shaping healthcare outcomes is an important focus at GSK Consumer Healthcare.  We are lucky to have great brands that help consumers do more, feel better and live longer.  I believe that each retailer has their unique position to help consumers on their path to better health outcomes.  It is important that we understand the plans of each of our partners and ensure our plans help them deliver on their priorities.