Content about Over-the-counter drug

NEW YORK — Investment firm J. Burke Capital Partners has increased its strategic investment into Leading Edge Innovations, a Branchburg, N.J., company that develops cosmetic formulas in skin care, sun care, hair care and other related categories for use in over-the-counter drugs and personal care products.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — One of the long-term goals of many drug companies has been to win Food and Drug Administration approval for cholesterol-lowering statins as over-the-counter drugs. But it's a goal that has long eluded them due to the agency's concerns about patient safety.

(THE NEWS: FDA mulls making some prescription drugs available over the counter. For the full story, click here.)

NEW YORK — What new prescription and OTC drugs are top of mind among retail pharmacists? How often do pharmacists REALLY recommend private label?

SAN DIEGO — NexMed USA on Thursday received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market the company's first over-the-counter antifungal drug, Tolnaftate-D.

NexMed USA's Tolnaftate-D incorporates NexACT, a proprietary drug delivery technology that transiently loosens the tight junction between the cells of the sealed skin to allow more permeation.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Generic drug maker Perrigo reported sales of $2.76 billion and profits of $341 million in fiscal year 2011, according to an earnings report released Tuesday.

The company's sales represent a 21% increase over fiscal year 2010, while its profits represent a 52% increase. Much of the increase in sales came from the acquisition of PBM Holdings and Orion Labs, as well as $192 million in new product sales.

WASHINGTON — Four legislators on Thursday introduced legislation that would restore over-the-counter medicines as qualified reimbursements under health spending accounts and flexible spending accounts without a prescription. A provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted in January had created a prescription requirement in order for OTC medicines to qualify for pre-tax reimbursements. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Product recalls over the past two years have eroded consumer trust in over-the-counter drugs; however, those same recalls represent opportunity for smaller market players to gain exposure and build brand awareness, wrote Laura Mahecha, industry manager for health care at research firm Kline, in an online report issued Wednesday. In addition, private-label brands and “natural OTCs” are enjoying strong growth. 

As a specialty pharmacy provider, BioScrip probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when one hears “retail pharmacy,” but its network of 31 community pharmacies around the country gives it a comfy spot at the table. The kinds of products and services it’s able to offer — ranging from home infusion and treatments for complex, chronic disease states to over-the-counter medications and sometimes even consumables — as a result of its combination of community pharmacy and specialty pharmacy make BioScrip stand out.


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie on Monday announced that its pharmacy will offer specially designed medication disposal envelopes to help its customers safely dispose of unused, outdated or unwanted medications.

The specially designed TakeAway Environmental Return System envelopes, made by Sharps Compliance, offer a convenient, safe and environmentally responsible method to dispose of unused, expired or unwanted noncontrolled prescription or over-the-counter medications, the grocer stated.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention last week announced that it is working with the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to update quality standards for widely used medicines and ingredients. Updated test methodologies are crucial to help counter economically motivated adulteration — in which less expensive and potentially harmful ingredients are substituted for genuine medicines or their ingredients — and also to address the challenge of impurities that may go undetected with older, nonspecific assays and tests.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Actavis last week named Lisa Buono to lead its over-the-counter drug division as part of the company’s strategic expansion of the division.

As director of OTC, Buono will oversee the division’s day-to-day operations and will focus on identifying and capitalizing on new product opportunities. Actavis manufactures and distributes numerous nonprescription liquids, creams and ointments sold under the Actavis label and its customers’ own brands, as well as FeverAll brand acetaminophen suppositories.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Companion legislation, which seeks to change a provision in the healthcare-reform law and permit Americans to use their flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts to buy over-the-counter medications without a prescription, has the support of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.