Content about Drug Fix

NEW YORK Sales of liquid Tylenol formulations, both adult and children, totaled $104.5 million across food, drug and mass (minus Walmart) for the 52 weeks ended May 17, according to Information Resources Inc. Internal analgesics tablet sales of Tylenol SKUs (across the top 20 brands) generated another $480.9 million. That’s more than $500 million in annual revenue, not including Walmart, potentially impacted by a future Food and Drug Administration decision. That’s not even representative of all acetaminophen sales.

NEW YORK The pending retirement of Kevin Tripp as EVP and president of Supervalu’s Retail Midwest region marks a big changing of the guard for one of chain pharmacy’s biggest players. Still unclear is if whether it also signals an exit from the retail pharmacy industry of this well-known and respected executive.

NEW YORK While the impetus for this multiple advisory committee meeting and the Food and Drug Administration’s working group that first examined this issue had been in the works long before the Obama administration took office — and consequently the new FDA took hold — there has been some concern that an overly zealous agency is placing any shred of safety concern ahead of consumer access — no matter how miniscule that safety risk may be.

NEW YORK First, it’s the first truly “new” product to enter the smoking cessation space in quite some time, featuring a strong point-of-differentiation (convenience packaging; faster efficacy), versus products already in this space.

NEW YORK News that Take Care Health Systems now offers treatment for skin conditions and minor injuries is further evidence that the retail-based clinic model continues to evolve and implement valuable services to augment patients’ healthcare needs.

NEW YORK The business of blood glucose meters has always been a business of “what will they think of next?” When people with diabetes didn’t aggressively test because of the painful, daily pin pricks of their fingertips, manufacturers secured approval for alternate site testing. Manufacturers also developed no-coding meters to eliminate any errors in testing that may have resulted from miscoded testing strips, when that was identified as a potential interface issue.

NEW YORK Alice.com is a revolutionary online service that could impact the industry on several levels, which is why it is important and should be on the radars of retailers and consumer packaged goods companies alike.

NEW YORK Walgreens continues to flesh out its revamped strategy to be the nation’s most convenient and accessible provider of pharmacy and health-and-wellness services.

The latest plank in that platform is its plan to test a pharmacy-driven outreach and support program for patients with diabetes.

NEW YORK It is critical that the dietary supplement industry extol the benefit and value associated with supplementing for health and wellness, especially as today’s legislators determine what health care will look like tomorrow, and how patients will be incentivized into being more proactive around the pursuit of preventative health behaviors.

NEW YORK You can expect to see more changes in the look and feel of the Walgreens drug store.

As three key front-end merchants left Walgreens’ in early May amid a major staff shakeup, three new replacements have since walked in from Walmart and Kraft Foods.

NEW YORK Making sure that medication therapy management is a part of any new healthcare reform legislation is a major priority for this industry, but it may be even more critical to the U.S. healthcare system.

NEW YORK Support for a regulatory pathway for biosimilars has grown rapidly, and even a few branded companies, such as Merck & Co. and Pfizer, have expressed interest. But Rep. Henry Waxman's, D-Calif., request that the Obama administration look for legal means to let the FDA approve biosimilars before his bill, its companion in the Senate or fellow California Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo’s competing bill is put to a vote, is a strong signal that biogenerics are going to be a reality in American health care — and sooner rather than later.