Content about Over-the-counter drug

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Pharmacists Planning Services, Inc. earlier this month filed a Citizen's Petition with the Food and Drug Administration calling to move St. John's Wort, a mood enhancing supplement, behind the counter. 

WASHINGTON — The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Tuesday joined forces to honor the Bucks County, Pa.-based Bucks Promise for Youth and Communities with this year’s Dose of Prevention award. This award recognizes community-based organizations that have implemented successful initiatives to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse and OTC cough medicine abuse.

As many as 26% of consumers increased their usage of over-the-counter products in the past year, according to an online survey of more than 900 AccentHealth viewers conducted in September. While a quarter of respondents increased their OTC usage over the past year, future use is trending more steadily.

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REDWOOD CITY, Ga. — Medagate on Thursday announced the first implementation of its 2.0 restricted-spend platform, which encourages eligible consumers to make healthy living choices by purchasing qualified items at the point of sale. Fred's Super Dollar stores in North Carolina and Georgia will be the first stores to implement the new capabilities. 

Over-the-counter medications continue to gain in popularity among consumers, who — whether as a matter of cost savings or convenience — are increasingly turning to OTCs to treat their conditions, including both acute, episodic conditions like the common cold and such chronic conditions as frequent pain and allergy. 


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ALLEGAN. Mich. — Business for OTC store brands is expected to boom in the coming year, Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph Papa told analysts discussing the private-label manufacturer's first-quarter results during a conference call Wednesday, even as the growth rate across the entire OTC category slows. "What we are seeing though, is the continued acceleration of store brand as being the reason why we're seeing the growth in our OTC category. For us to have a 9.4% growth in our OTC category, we think is a strong indication," Papa said. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday announced the sale of its Rugby over-the-counter business to the Harvard Drug Group — a distributor and provider of private-label OTCs and generic prescription products under the Major Pharmaceuticals brand — for approximately $117 million.  

"I am confident that Major, with its leadership position as a marketer of OTC products, will be more strategically positioned to maximize the value of the long-known and respected Rugby name," stated Paul Bisaro, president and CEO of Watson.

SUPPLIER NEWS — Summit Laboratories recently launched a pair of skin care items ideal for people with diabetes. Aside from kidney and eye disorders, skin disorders are one of the top challenges for diabetics. Summit Laboratories’ Dr. Fred Summit Type 1 & 2 Diabetic Rehydrating Cleanser and Cream provide a one-two punch to help promote proper leg and foot care. The pair of products are being merchandised as a solution for dry and itching skin associated with diabetes, and retail for $6.99 and 
$12.99, respectively.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Satisfaction among customers using mail-order pharmacies to fill their prescriptions continued to decline, falling significantly below customer satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacies, according to the J.D. Power and Associates "2012 U.S. Pharmacy Study" released Thursday.

 WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution naming October as National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. The resolution was sponsored by Sens. Diane Feinstein, D.-Calif., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and urges communities to carry out programs and activities to educate parents and youth of the potential dangers associated with medicine abuse.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark announced that it has joined with a group of public and private sector partners and will sponsor the "The Medicine Abuse Project," a multiyear effort by The Partnership at Drugfree.org to raise awareness and curb the abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. The project's goal is to prevent half a million teens from abusing medicines over the next five years.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Significant product recalls and the ongoing recession have driven consumer behavior change in the OTC aisle, according to a new report published Tuesday by Kline. In addition, road blocks to savings, such as reimbursement of OTC medicines under flexible spending accounts, were recently put in place with the new requirement that those medicines now to be prescribed by a physician in order to qualify for reimbursement. Approximately 1-in-5 respondents have used FSAs to purchase OTC drugs or nutritional supplements in the past, the report noted.