Perrigo launches its own store-brand Voltaren Arthritis Pain relief

Perrigo has launched the store brand equivalent of GSK Consumer Healthcare’s Voltaren Arthritis Pain. The Dublin-based company said the diclofenac sodium topical gel 1% is the first store brand abbreviated new drug application to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 

Sarah Schweihofer, Perrigo’s director of marketing, told Store Brands that Perrigo’s product began shipping to its retail partners Aug. 31.

Walgreens launched its own brand version on Sept. 1, but Perrigo couldn't officially disclose if they are the supplier to Walgreens.

Schweihofer said that the speed with which the company was able to bring the store brand offering of the year’s biggest Rx-to-OTC switch highlighted Perrigo’s strong positioning in the Rx market, as well as its R&D capabilities to deliver on its self-care platform. She noted that the store brand offering is a way for retailers to have an own-brand product that can help relieve pain for the roughly 1-in-4 Americans who suffer from arthritis pain. 

“By partnering with Perrigo, retailers have a first-to-market advantage, but if we think of the size of generic prescription Voltaren in the Rx marketplace, it was an approximately $250 million marketplace before the switch to OTC,” Schweihofer said. “We believe there's a large market for both Voltaren and store brand diclofenac.”

Ultimately, the product serves to underscore’s Perrigo’s flexibility and speed as a supplier for retailers’ private label needs, she said. “The launch of our store brand diclofenac  is a great example of who Perrigo is, how we operate and how we benefit both consumers and our retail partners.”

This story originally appeared on Store Brands.