Content about United States

TSAILE, Ariz. — Some people enter the twilight years of college without a clue of what they want to do, only to decide at the last minute. Others, like pharmacist Terry Teller, know early on.


For Teller, a member of the Navajo Native American tribe originally from Lukachukai, Ariz., helping to heal people is part of his heritage, with multiple generations of medicine men and women on both sides of his family.


HONOLULU — Hisamitsu America earlier this week announced the release of two videos featuring an Obama look-alike applying Salonpas to ease the aches and pains of a “presidential magnitude.”

Hisamitsu noted it may be the first pharma company to use a parody of President Obama in its advertising, a controversial factor that should help generate a buzz around the videos.



An expected overall upswing in the economy in 2011 is likely to lead to consumers loosening the grip on their wallets. However, for the time being, the sluggish economy continues to shift hair care buying behavior.
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Value will remain the driving force behind hair care sales, despite a predicted upswing in the economy in 2011, as consumers are expected to remain careful spenders within the hair care sector,” stated research firm Euromonitor International.


NEW YORK — The magazine of the American Diabetes Association has released its annual consumer guide in its January issue.

Diabetes Forecast highlighted what's new and on the horizon for the six categories of diabetes-management products, including blood-glucose meters and insulin pens and pumps, as well as diabetes drugs available in the United States, ranked by type and popularity. The guide also spotlighted mobile applications and what devices they can be used for.

GREENWICH, Conn. — Private equity fund Brynwood Partners VI L.P. announced on Tuesday that its newly formed portfolio company, High Ridge Brands, has acquired the Zest brand from Procter & Gamble.

High Ridge Brands purchased the rights to the Zest brand in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean markets. The company will be based in Stamford, Conn., and Brynwood VI has majority ownership of the company.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark is more than doubling the size of its Medicare Part D program by acquiring the Medicare Part D business of Universal American for roughly $1.25 billion.

Universal American’s Part D business currently serves about 1.9 million Medicare PDP members, while CVS Caremark serves roughly 1.2 million Medicare PDP members. This reflects current levels of membership and does not include 2011 auto assignment or the results of the annual enrollment period, which ended Dec. 31, 2010.

LANDOVER, Md. — Giant Food is helping customers stick to their New Year's resolutions by emphasizing its product labeling system.

Healthy Ideas, which initially launched in January 2009, identifies healthy options for customers as they shop the aisles, and includes both perishable and nonperishable items, as well as private-label and national brands.

NEW YORK — Target will kick off a new ad campaign in 2011 that makes a tongue-in-cheek, if not frank and honest, appeal to new parents, according to a report by AdAge.

“I just had a 20-minute conversation with a stranger about nipples,” reads one of the print ads, which the article noted are “meant to illustrate the chaos, humor and absurdness that are hallmarks of parenting.”

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Store directors at Hy-Vee said they noticed customers delay to purchase certain items until Christmas Eve.

Specialty items, including such products as cocktail sauce, heavy whipping cream and batteries; stock-up items, including beverages and eggs; and gifts and entertainment items tend to be purchased in the 11th hour.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The CVS Caremark Charitable Trust announced on Tuesday that $3.3 million in grants has been awarded to 72 nonprofit organizations across the country.

About half of these grants align with CVS Caremark All Kids Can, a program focused on making life easier for children with disabilities and for their families. The other half of the grants will provide support for medical services for the underinsured and uninsured.

NEW YORK — Pfizer on Monday announced that it intends to recall one lot — approximately 19,000 bottles — of Lipitor 40-mg tablets (atorvastatin calcium) distributed in the United States because of one customer’s report of an uncharacteristic odor related to the bottles in which these lots of Lipitor were packaged.

The bottles were supplied by a third-party bottle manufacturer. A medical assessment found that the risk of health consequences to patients appears to be minimal, Pfizer reported.