Walgreens to acquire 3drugstore.comNovartis UK plans 3to move ConsumerOTC turnover disappoints 4at CelesioGermany’s Bionorica 6pushes into the UKGalenica’s Vifor OTC unit 7reports gainsNBTY reports loss 8in wake of takeoverLinola and Vagisan lift 9sales at Dr WolffAlliance Pharma poised 10to acquire Anbesol brandSEEK to auction 10cough-drug rights

GENERAL NEWS 11

Germany’s BfArM reveals 11plan to compare triptansEFSA has plan to 11be more like EMA

MARKETING NEWS 13

Ratiopharm returns to 13twin-based advertisingManx takes on Cyklo-F 14with Femstrual launchOmega claims Prevalin 15protects from hayfeverNovartis takes Otriven 16into the hayfever arena

FEATURES 18

French market falters 18despite ‘free-access’A look at the 2010 market trendsGerman firms foresee 20a price fallFindings of a survey of consumers,pharmacists and industry

REGULARS

Events – Our regular listing 17People – Celesio recruits Borchert 22from Douglas retail chainPeople – Germany’s BAH names 23new replacement for Seidscheck

COMPANY NEWS 3

31 March 2011

Procter & Gamble has signed a ‘masteragreement’ with Teva Pharmaceutical

Industries to create a consumer healthcarepartnership, including a joint venture thatwill bring together each firm’s OTC port-folio. However, Procter & Gamble will re-tain full control of its North American OTCoperations.

The joint venture – in which Procter &Gamble will hold 51% and Teva 49% – willcombine the two companies’ OTC operationsin all markets outside of North America andwill have annual sales of more than US$1 bil-lion (C700 million) on formation.

Teva believes it could become a US$4 bil-lion business within a few years. The Israelifirm will assume global manufacturing respon-sibility for both the joint venture and Procter& Gamble’s existing North American business.

Shlomo Yanai, Teva’s president and chiefexecutive officer, insisted the partnership hadthe “potential to reshape the entire global OTCmarket”. Teva would bring the world’s largestportfolio of medicines as well as extensive ex-pertise in developing, registering and makingthose drugs in more than 60 markets, he said.

Procter & Gamble, on the other hand, wouldcontribute brand-building and marketing know-

ledge, plus a network of mass-retail partners.Yanai’s counterpart at Procter & Gamble,

Bob McDonald, pointed out that Teva’s exten-sive portfolio in categories such as allergy, gas-trointestinal and respiratory would provide apipeline of potential prescription-to-non-pre-scription switches that could either become newlines or extensions to Procter & Gamble brandssuch as Metamucil, Pepto-Bismol and Vicks.

Details of the collaboration are currently be-ing finalised. Subject to regulatory approval, thetwo firms expect to close the deal this autumn.

The chief executive officer of the joint ven-ture will be Procter & Gamble’s Briain de Buit-leir. The joint venture’s chief financial officerwill also be recruited from Procter & Gamble,but the chief operating officer role will be filledby a Teva employee.

Expanding on the rationale behind the tie-up, Yanai said the partnership enabled “twoglobal leaders” not only to combine their busi-nesses and research and development portfolios,but also a set of “complementary capabilities”he believed were “unmatchable in the health-care industry”.

Yanai noted the joint venture’s annual salesof US$1 billion would include leading market

■ Continued on page 11

Procter & Gamble teamswith Teva in OTC market

Andy Hornby has stepped down as groupchief executive of Alliance Boots.

Hornby said that he had decided to “takea few months break” following an “intense lastfive years as chief executive officer of two maj-or companies”.

The news comes soon after rival pan-Euro-pean retailer and wholesaler Celesio announc-ed that its chairman and chief executive offi-cer, Fritz Oesterle, would retire earlier thanexpected on 30 June 2011 (OTC bulletin, 17March 2011, page 19).

Celesio said Oesterle had reached the deci-

sion “in amicable mutual agreement” with thefirm’s supervisory board. He has been Cele-sio’s chief executive officer for 12 years.

Alliance Boots recruited Hornby two yearsago from UK banking group HBOS, where hehad led the retail division before becomingchief executive officer. He had previously work-ed at the supermarket chain Asda (OTC bul-letin, 19 June 2009, page 1).

The company said it would “undertake aninternal and external search for a successor tolead the next phase of its international growthand development”.

Hornby quits as Alliance Boots’ chief

OTC31-03-11p1&24FIN.qxd 31/3/11 07:09 Page 1

US drugstore giant Walgreens is set to ac-quire online retailer drugstore.com in a

deal with a total enterprise value of approxi-mately US$409 million (C322 million).

Greg Wasson, Walgreen’s president and chiefexecutive officer, said the deal “significantly”accelerated the firm’s online strategy. Moreover,it complemented the activities of Walgreens’7,689-strong drugstore chain, and was anotherstep towards the company’s goal of becomingthe “most convenient multi-channel retailer ofhealth and daily living needs in America”.

“This acquisition offers a unique opportunitythat will provide us with immediate access to

more than three million ‘savvy’, loyal onlinecustomers,” Wasson pointed out, “and will allowus to move even closer to our existing custom-ers through relationships with new vendors andpartners, adding approximately 60,000 productsto our already strong online offering.”

With sales of more than US$456 million in2010, drugstore.com was ranked as the eighth-largest “e-tailer” in the US by Internet Retailermagazine, Walgreens pointed out.

As a result of the deal, Walgreens will gainthe drugstore.com website, along with otherwebsites operated by the firm including Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com.

Walgreens said it would maintain separatebranding of drugstore.com’s websites.

Sona Chawla, Walgreen’s president of e-commerce, said the deal enabled the companyto expand its product offering, acquire new cap-abilities through drugstore.com’s well-known

beauty and skincare websites and add the firm’s“talented team” to Walgreen’s “strong and grow-ing” e-commerce organisation.

Drugstore.com stockholders will get US$3.80per share from the deal. Subject to approval bydrugstore.com’s stockholders and regulatoryauthorities, the deal is expected to close by theend of June 2011.

Meanwhile, Walgreens is set to sell its phar-macy-benefit management business to CatalystHealth Solutions in a cash transaction worthUS$525 million, subject to certain adjustments.

331 March 2011 OTC bulletin

COMPANY NEWS OTC

31 March 2011 Number 359

Editor & Publisher: Deborah Wilkes

Associate Editors: Aidan FryMike Rice

Business Editor: Matt Stewart

Assistant Editors: Jenna LawrenceDavid Wallace

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Editorial, Subscription and Advertisingenquiries should be addressed to: OTC bulletin,OTC Publications Ltd, 54 Creynolds Lane, Solihull,West Midlands B90 4ER, UK.Tel: +44 1564 777550. Fax: +44 1564 777524.E-mail: info@OTC-bulletin.com.

SubscriptionsAnnual subscriptions to OTC bulletin in Europe are £625.00 forsingle copies and £355.00 for additional copies to the same ad-dress, including delivery. Subscriptions to addresses outside Eur-ope are subject to an additional charge of £30.00 to cover postage.Subscription enquiries in Korea should be directed to PharmaKoreana Ltd, 14th Floor, KTB Network Building, 826-14 Yeoksam-dong, Kangnam-gu, Seoul 135-080, Korea (Tel: +82 2 554 9591;Fax: +82 2 563 8289; E-mail: pkinfo@pharmakoreana.com).AdvertisingAdvertising rates and data are available on request from the ad-dress above or at www.otc-bulletin.com.About OTC bulletinOTC bulletin is published 20 times a year by OTC PublicationsLimited: twice monthly in February, March, April, May, June, Sep-tember, October and November; and monthly in December, Jan-uary, July and August. A subscription to OTC bulletin includesthe weekly electronic newsflash, news@OTCbulletin, which ispublished around 45 times a year. OTC bulletin is printed by theWarwick Printing Company Limited, Caswell Road, LeamingtonSpa CV31 1QD, UK.No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, storedin a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without priorpermission from OTC Publications Ltd.© OTC Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.Company registered in England No 2765878. Registered Office:54 Creynolds Lane, Solihull, West Midlands B90 4ER, UK.OTC bulletin® is registered as a trademark in the EuropeanCommunity.

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bulle t inOTCOTCOTCOTCOTC

Mergers & Acquisitions

Walgreens to acquire drugstore.com

Drugstore.com was ranked the eighth-largest“e-tailer” in the US by Internet Retailer magazine

OTC

Novartis is set to relocate some of its Con-sumer Health operations in the UK, after

drawing up proposals to reduce activities atits site in Horsham, West Sussex.

A spokesperson for Novartis told OTC bul-letin that the proposal envisaged moving theConsumer Health operations carried out at Hor-sham to Frimley in Surrey, where the comp-any’s Animal Health business and Sandoz gen-erics unit are already based.

About 80 Novartis Consumer Health staffcurrently work at Horsham, the spokespersonnoted, covering a variety of functions, the largestof which were sales and marketing, researchand development and global manufacturingand supply.

The spokesperson would not comment onwhether the proposed move would lead to anyjob losses at Novartis Consumer Health.

Explaining the thinking behind the proposedmove, Novartis said it would “strengthen” thecompany’s “cross-divisional collaboration andsynergies, lead to more talent exchange withinNovartis and help recruitment of sales and mar-keting professionals”.

The proposals are subject to an employeeconsultation and Novartis UK board approval.

Business Strategy

Novartis UK plansto move Consumer

OTC

German homoeopathic specialist HevertArzneimittel intends to expand eastwards

as it aims to continue its recent growth trend.“We have high hopes of entering Russia

and selected Commonwealth of IndependentStates (CIS) markets with two of our homoeo-pathic products,” stated the family-owned firm’smanaging director, Mathias Hevert.

To cope with the expected increase in de-mand, Hevert will this year expand productioncapacity at its headquarters in Nussbaum, nearFrankfurt. “While other companies rely on con-tract manufacturing, we are building stronglyon our identity as a natural remedies producer,”commented Hevert.

In its domestic market, the German com-pany has just started a television campaign forits homoeopathic anxiety remedy, CalmvaleraHevert. To appeal to its target group of womenaged over 35 years, Hevert has recruited Ger-man actress Sandra Speichert to appear in 28-second commercials that run during afternoonson the SAT1 channel.

Last year, Hevert’s range of homoeopathicremedies, herbal medicines and high-dose vita-mins generated sales 12.9% higher at C15.6million, despite a flat domestic OTC market.

Business Strategy/Annual Results

Germany’s Hevertlooks towards east

OTC

OTC31-03-11p2-3FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:20 Page 3

4 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC COMPANY NEWS

OTC sales at Celesio’s Retail Pharmaciesbusiness had been disappointing in 2010,

according to the pan-European wholesaler andretailer, as the tough economic environment hithome in a number of markets.

The “increasingly tense economic situation,particularly in the UK and Ireland”, had directlyimpacted demand for OTC products, Celesionoted, leading the company to introduce a num-ber of measures during the year to try and boostOTC sales.

These measures included expanding its own-brand range, the company said, and increasingbrowsing space for customers in its stores.

Despite this, OTC sales growth had not metexpectations, Celesio noted. This was in con-trast to prescription sales, which had “develop-ed well” in Italy, Norway and the UK, and togrowth in turnover from patient services.

Overall, sales at the Retail Pharmacies busi-ness grew by 4.5% to C3.32 billion in 2010 (seeFigure 1). However, the bulk of the gain camefrom positive currency effects. The rise in localcurrencies was a more modest 0.6%.

As of 31 December 2010, Retail Pharmacieswas operating 2,276 stores, 20 down from thesame time a year earlier. The slight fall was dueto the business’ Dutch pharmacies becoming

part of Brocacef Holdings at the end of Nov-ember through a cooperation deal with fellowwholesaler and retailer Phoenix Pharmahandel(OTC bulletin, 30 June 2010, page 5). Mean-while, 50 stores had been opened in Swedenduring the year, Celesio noted.

The Lloydspharmacy chain in the UK ac-counted for 62.9% of Retail Pharmacies’ totalsales in 2010, with the business benefitting froma “significant rise” in the number of prescrip-tions handled by its pharmacies. This offset theimpact of cuts in reimbursement prices for ge-neric medicines.

Total retail sales in the UK increased by4.8% – 0.9% in local currencies – to C2.09 bil-lion in the 12 months (see Figure 2).

Turnover in Norway grew even quicker, withsales rising by 10.5% – 1.4% in local currencies– to C514 million as prescription turnover dev-eloped “extremely well”. OTC sales had fall-en short of expectations, Celesio noted, but wereconsistent with the general development of theNorwegian market.

Italian pharmacies had reported growth inboth the prescription and non-prescription partsof their business, Celesio said, helping to liftturnover by 2.1% to C209 million. The companyadded that a pilot scheme to test the Doc-

Morris pharmacy franchise model in Italy hadproduced “very promising” results so far.

The company’s Dutch pharmacies had seentheir earning power reduced by the government,which had introduced generics tendering in allbut name, Celesio said. This had led to a 10.2%sales fall to C156 million in the 11 months be-fore the company’s Dutch pharmacies becamepart of the Brocacef Holdings business.

Drastic cuts to reimbursement prices andthe impact of the economic recession led to afall in sales at the company’s Irish pharmacies,Celesio noted, with the weak economic environ-ment hitting the OTC sector hard. Turnover inIreland declined by 6.3% to C143 million.

On a brighter note, the two DocMorrisbranded trial stores opening in Dublin and Lim-erick had developed “extremely well”, Celesiosaid, noting that all of its Irish pharmacies wouldbe converted into DocMorris stores by 2012.

The financial crisis had also hit turnover atthe company’s Belgian pharmacies, where salesedged up by just 0.6% to C137 million, as high-er fees meant patients made fewer doctor visits.On a positive note, turnover from OTC productshad risen slightly, Celesio said.

Price cuts by the government were blamedfor a reduction in prescription sales at the com-pany’s Czech pharmacies, which led to overallsales dropping by 1.8% – 6.0% in local curren-cies – to C54.2 million. In contrast to prescrip-tion sales, non-prescription turnover performedwell as a result of increased marketing activities.

Meanwhile, Celesio established itself in thenewly-liberalised Swedish pharmacy marketby opening 50 DocMorris Apotek stores during2010. This was half-way to its medium-termtarget of a Swedish chain of more than 100pharmacies, the company noted.

The fledgling Swedish pharmacy chain con-tributed C21.6 million to Retail Pharmacies’sales during the year, Celesio said, and had al-ready become “well established with patientsand consumers”.

Establishing the Swedish chain had a neg-ative effect on Retail Pharmacies’ earnings be-fore interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation(EBITDA), which slipped backed by 0.6%. Inlocal currencies, the fall was 4.1% to C305 mil-lion (see Figure 3).

Government measures in a number of mar-kets had also squeezed earnings, Celesio said,along with the expenses related to setting upDocMorris Apotek chain in Sweden.

Retail Pharmacies forms the largest part ofCelesio’s Patient and Consumer Solutions di-

Annual Results

OTC turnover disappoints at Celesio

Country Annual sales Change 2009/2010 (%) Number of(EEmillions) CC Local currencies pharmacies

UK 2,089 +4.8 +0.9 1,657

Norway 514 +10.5 +1.4 176

Italy 209 +2.1 +2.1 162

Netherlands 156 -10.2 -10.2 64

Ireland 143 -6.3 -6.3 72

Belgium 137 +0.6 +0.6 110

Czech Republic 54 -1.8 -6.0 49

Sweden* 22 >100.0 >100.0 50

Total 3,323 +4.5 +0.6 2,340**

* Since February 2010 ** Including Celesio’s Dutch pharmacies, which were divested at the end of November 2010

Figure 2: Celesio’s Retail Pharmacies’ sales in 2010 and number of branches on 31 December (Source – Celesio)

Business Annual sales Change 2009/2010 (%)(EEmillions) EE Local currencies

Retail Pharmacies 3,323 +4.5 +0.6Mail-order Pharmacies 291 +13.4 +13.3Other Business Areas 4 -11.5 -11.5Patient and Consumer Solutions 3,618 +5.1 +1.5

Pharmacy Solutions 19,020 +8.4 +6.2

Other 639 – –

Total Celesio 23,278 +8.3 5.8

Figure 1: Celesio’s sales in 2010 broken down by business (Source – Celesio)

OTC31-03-11p4-5FIN.qxd 31/3/11 10:21 Page 2

531 March 2011 OTC bulletin

COMPANY NEWS OTC

vision, ahead of the Mail-order Pharmaciesbusiness and Other Business Areas segment.

Celesio noted that as of 1 January 2011 ithad changed its reporting structure, with thePatient and Consumer Solutions division nowconsisting of two units – Pharmacies and Otherbusiness areas.

The Pharmacies unit covers retail pharma-cies, franchise operations and mail-order oper-ations in the UK and Norway, while the Otherbusiness areas unit reports the company’s in-vestment in Brocacef Holdings.

The DocMorris mail-order business in Ger-many has become part of the Medco Celesiojoint venture (OTC bulletin, 30 June 2010,page 5), which will be reported in the Manu-facturer Solutions division.

Celesio’s mail-order operations enjoyed apositive 2010, with sales growing by 13.4%– 13.3% in local currencies – to C291 million.The increase was driven by the growth of theApotheke DocMorris business in Germany,where sales of both prescription and OTC prod-ucts improved during the year.

The smaller Lloydspharmacy mail-orderbusiness in the UK was developing at a “sat-isfactory rate”, Celesio said, while the Vitus-apotek mail-order operation in Norway wasstill in the start-up phase.

In the Other Business Areas segment –where 2010 sales fell by 11.5% to C4.3 million– Celesio said it had started to roll-out the “im-proved version” of its DocMorris franchisebusiness in Germany. The new version offer-ed a “redesigned, significantly wider offering

in the areas of product range, marketing andservice”, the company maintained.

Celesio admitted last year that a C71 mil-lion loss of goodwill at its DocMorris franchisebusiness had been due to operating failures(OTC bulletin, 31 March 2010, page 4). It hadintended to sign up 500 pharmacies to the vir-tual pharmacy chain by 2011, but this wouldnow not happen until 2015 at the earliest.

As of 31 December 2010, 159 German phar-macies had signed up as brand partners, an in-crease of 152 from a year earlier, Celesio said,adding that where possible it was looking to in-troduce the DocMorris brand franchise schemeinto other European countries.

Total 2010 sales at Celesio’s Patient andConsumer Solutions division grew by 5.1%– 1.5% in local currencies – to C3.62 billion.EBITDA advanced by 5.5% to C317 million. Inlocal currencies, the EBITDA gain was 2.0%.

Commenting on this, Fritz Oesterle, out-

going chairman of Celesio’s management board(see front page), said that the division wouldlook to expand its activities in what he describ-ed as the more profitable “secondary healthcaremarket” where patients and consumers paid forhealthcare “out of their own pocket”.

In this market, purchase decisions werealigned to strong trade and product brands,Oesterle continued, which was why the com-pany was in the process of rebranding all of itsnon-UK pharmacies as DocMorris stores (OTCbulletin, 30 November 2010, page 6).

This would give the company two recog-nisable pharmacy brands, Lloydspharmacy inthe UK and DocMorris in the rest of Europe,Oesterle pointed out, noting that the transitionwould keep the company occupied for “someyears to come”. However, the rebranding exer-cise would “create the foundation” for the fu-ture success of Celesio’s pharmacies business,he added.

Business Annual EBITDA Change 2009/2010(EEmillions) CC Local currencies

Retail Pharmacies 304.7 -0.6 -4.1

Mail-order Pharmacies 12.8 >100.0 >100.0

Other Business Areas -0.8 +71.2 +71.2

Patient and Consumer Solutions 316.7 +5.5 +2.0

Pharmacy Solutions 456.1 +19.3 +16.0

Other -73.6 – –

Total Celesio 699.2 +11.4 +7.7

Figure 3: Celesio’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2010 broken downby business (Source – Celesio)

OTC

China Nepstar’s turnover grew by 6.3% toCNY2.36 billion (C255 million) in 2010,

as the Chinese drugstore chain moved into theconvenience sector to offset the negative im-pact of government policies.

The company said its “product and market-ing innovations” had appealed to customersand had driven higher spending per visit. Thishad created a steady sales flow, Nepstar point-ed out, enabling the company to withstand thedifficult trading environment.

Sales of OTC drugs generated 36.8% ofNepstar’s turnover in 2010, while prescriptiondrugs accounted for a further 21.4%. Nutri-tional products contributed 19.2%, herbal prod-ucts 3.7% and other products the remaining18.9% of sales.

OTC

Annual Results

Nepstar benefitsfrom shift in focus

OTC31-03-11p4-5FIN.qxd 31/3/11 10:21 Page 3

6 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC COMPANY NEWS

OTC

Herbal medicines specialist Bionorica hasentered the UK market by introducing four

products, and the German company is preparingto enter other markets in the European Union.

In the UK, Bionorica has launched four tradi-tional herbal medicines. Cyclopret is an agnuscastus product for relieving premenstrual symp-toms that is currently the subject of trials at theRoyal London Hospital.

Cystipret tablets are for urinary tract infec-tions such as cystitis and contain a combinationof centuary, lovage root and rosemary.

Containing black cohosh root extract, Meno-pret tablets are for relieving symptoms of themenopause such as hot flushes; while the Neu-ropret anxiety remedy is based on St John’s wort.

All four traditional medicines are availablefrom larger Boots stores, certain independentpharmacies and health food shops. Recom-mended retail prices for 30-tablet packs rangebetween £8.25 (C9.39) and £14.99. Bionoricasaid it would become “the first UK brand of

herbal medicines” to team up with the Collegeof Medicine to provide online training modules.

The German company, which has a presencein 49 countries, said it had become market lead-er for herbal medicines in Belarus, Russia andUzbekistan. In Poland – where Bionorica set upan operation two years ago – the company saidit was outperforming the local market.

Group turnover advanced by 6.2% to C149million last year, driven by the herbal respira-tory medicine Sinupret and the Canephron treat-ment for urinary tract infections.

Bionorica said its volume share of Germany’sherbal medicines market had reached 10.4%.This was achieved in large part by selling 8.2million packs of Sinupret, which captured an18.3% value share of Germany’s OTC cold rem-edies market, according to IMS Health data.

Quoting Insight Health data for sales intopharmacies, the company said it had increasedits domestic turnover by 5.7% last year. Thisperformance compared favourably with growth

of just 1.5% in the overall OTC market, and a3.3% decline in sales of herbal medicines.

Bionorica said it had benefitted from intro-ducing the Allergopret Protect allergy remedyand the Allunapret sleeping aid in Germanylast year (OTC bulletin, 30 July 2010, page 22).

Furthermore, “the first three-dimensionalseal of originality in the German OTC market”had strengthened Bionorica’s brand identity.“Even more consumers are turning to the com-bination of natural wellness and proven qual-ity,” commented managing director ProfessorMichael Popp.

Bionorica is currently testing in selected Ger-man pharmacies its ‘Phytothek’ store-in-storeconcept. Phytothek is a dedicated area of a phar-macy in which herbal medicines are exclusivelypresented by indication.

“The goal is to make Germany’s many usersof herbal remedies aware that high-quality phy-topharmaceuticals and expert advice are avail-able solely from pharmacies,” explained Popp.

Business Strategy/Annual Results

Germany’s Bionorica pushes into the UK

OTC31-03-11p6-7FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:38 Page 2

Better sales both in Switzerland and inter-national markets pushed forward turnover

in 2010 at Galenica’s Vifor Pharma ConsumerHealthcare division by 2.0% to SFr110 million(C85.6 million).

Consumer Healthcare’s sales in Switzerlandhad increased by 1.9% to SFr81.4 million, Gal-enica pointed out, adding this was much quick-er than the overall Swiss consumer healthcaremarket, which had dropped back by 2.0%.

Specific marketing campaigns had contri-buted to the growth, the Swiss company noted,along with various line extensions, includingthree additions to its leading Perskindol topi-cal pain-relief and joint-care brand.

Export sales of SFr28.6 million, represent-ed a 2.1% rise compared to the prior year, de-spite unfavourable currency effects, Galenicasaid. Excluding currency effects, export turnoverhad grown by 7.5%.

The rise in export sales had been driven bydouble-digit growth from the Equazen eye qline, the Otalgan earcare product and Perskin-dol, the company added, noting that ConsumerHealthcare’s products were now available onsix continents.

Although international sales had risen, thedifficult economic situation in the UK had ledthe Consumer Healthcare division to restructureits Potters OTC business and employ CeutaHealthcare to handle the UK subsidiary’s salesand marketing operations.

Turning to Consumer Healthcare’s six big-gest-selling OTC brands, Galenica said sales ofthe Perskindol Active Patch launched in Marchlast year (OTC bulletin, 31 March 2010, page7) had been strong, helping to lift the brand’stotal sales by over a fifth to SFr16.4 million in

2010 (see Figure 1). The company noted thebrand had also been expanded in Switzerlandin the second half of 2010 with the PerskindolActiflex joint-care food supplement and the Per-skindol Dolo Hot Patch.

A liquid form of Consumer Healthcare’sEquazen IQ product had been “successfully”launched in Switzerland during 2010, the com-pany said, but it had not been enough to pre-vent a 9.3% fall in the brand’s total sales toSFr13.9 million.

Equazen line extensionEquazen had already been expanded further

this year, Galenica pointed out, with the Equ-azen IQ Mum line extension for pregnant andbreast-feeding women entering the Swiss mar-ket in January.

Meanwhile, Antibrumm insect repellents hadposted 2010 sales up by 60.1% to SFr5.0 mil-lion, as they benefitted from the launch of a pro-duct designed for tick bites, Galenica said.

Otalgan had delivered a 14.9% rise in sales

to SFr5.1 million, the company continued, whilethe Algifor analgesics brand had posted turnoverup by 7.1% to SFr11.2 million. The Triofen al-lergy and cold brand, however, had reportedsales down by 3.2% to SFr9.4 million.

Outside of the top six, the Revalid N haircare range had been relaunched in 2010, Gal-enica pointed out, as a “fortifying and restor-ing product line for hair”, which included am-poules, capsules and a shampoo.

Looking forward, Perskindol would be ex-panded further in 2011, Galenica said, with thelaunch of a “sports spray for warming up mus-cles with crackling effect”, while the Equazenrange would be launched in Portugal, Russiaand the Slovak Republic. The Algifor ibupro-fen range is also set to be strengthened, withthe launch of an Algifor Dolo Junior productsuitable for babies.

Vifor Pharma Consumer Healthcare generat-ed 19% of sales at Galenica’s Pharma unit, whichwere up by 30.1% to SFr579 million. On a con-stant-currency basis, the rise was 34.3%.

Galenica’s total group turnover in 2010 in-creased by 6.6% to SFr3.10 billion. Turnover atthe dominant Logistics division fell by 2.3% toSFr2.02 billion, while acquiring the Sun Storepharmacy chain and other pharmacy businessespushed up Retail sales by 30.1% to SFr1.02billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax,depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) ad-vanced by 11.3% to SFr445 million.

Meanwhile, David Ebsworth, Vifor Pharma’schief executive officer, will step up to chief ex-ecutive officer of the Galenica Group on 1 Jan-uary 2012. Ebsworth will take over from Eti-enne Jornod, who will become full-time exec-utive chairman of Galenica’s board of directors.

731 March 2011 OTC bulletin

COMPANY NEWS OTC

Business Strategy/Annual Results

Galenica’s Vifor OTC unit reports gainsProduct Annual sales Change

(SFr millions) (%)

Perskindol 16.4 +20.9

Equazen eye q 13.9 -9.3

Algifor 11.2 +7.1

Triofan 9.4 -3.2

Otalgan 5.1 +14.9

Antibrumm 5.0 +60.1

Other brands 49.0 –

Total 110.0 +2.0

Figure 1: Sales in 2010 by Galenica’s Vifor PharmaConsumer Healthcare business (Source – Galenica)

A new ‘sports spray’ will be added to the Perskindolrange in 2011

OTC

French homoeopathy specialist Boiron saidits operating income had declined by 26.3%

in 2010, as the company faced a difficult com-parison with 2009 when its earnings had beenboosted by the H1N1 swine flu outbreak.

Operating income dropped to C66.7 millionin the 12 months, Boiron noted, compared toC90.4 million in 2009. However, in compari-son to 2008, operating income had increasedby 13.9%, the company pointed out.

The fall in operating income followed a1.1% decline in 2010 sales to C520 million

(OTC bulletin, 11 February 2011, page 13).A 7.0% drop in the fourth quarter of the

year, coupled with a 1.1% setback in the open-ing three months, had been enough to wipe outthe 1.3% and 4.0% gains made in the secondand third quarters respectively.

Turnover of non-proprietary homoeopathicmedicines had slipped back by 1.9% to C267million over the 12 months, Boiron said, whileturnover from OTC specialities had declinedby 0.2% to C252 million.

Annual Results

Boiron posts drop in operating income

OTC

OTC31-03-11p6-7FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:38 Page 3

Merger expenses and inventory write-downsled NBTY to report an operating loss of

US$38.8 million (C27.5 million) in the com-pany’s first quarter ended 31 December 2010,as it returned to life under private ownership.

Private-equity company The Carlyle Group’sUS$3.8 billion acquisition of NBTY at the startof October (OTC bulletin, 15 October 2010,page 2) and the associated costs added US$38.8million to the US-based supplements manufac-turer and retailer’s corporate expenses for thethree months.

This had been compounded by a US$122million loss on the goodwill valuation of ac-quired inventory, NBTY said, which had beensold during the quarter.

Sales also declined, falling back by 1.2% toUS$742 million (see Figure 1), as turnover atthe company’s two biggest divisions dropped.

Wholesale/US Nutrition’s turnover slippedback by 3.0% to US$457 million, which NBTYblamed on lower sales of private-label productscaused by a “highly competitive environment”in the private-label market. This decline hadbeen partially offset, the firm noted, by bettersales of sports nutrition brands, such as World-wide Sport Nutrition, Pure Protein and Met-Rx.

NBTY said it was responding to “changingmarket conditions” by continuing to adjust the

allocation of shelf space among its brands toprovide the best overall product mix.

Negative exchange-rate effects were blam-ed for the drop in sales at the European Retailbusiness, which posted turnover down by 3% toUS$172 million. In local currency terms, netsales had increased by 0.8%, NBTY said, whilesame-store sales fell by less than one percent.A 17.6% drop in operating income to US$28.5million was blamed on lower gross profits.

As of 31 December 2010, the European Re-tail business unit was operating 1,071 stores, ofwhich 1,048 were company-owned and a fur-ther 23 were franchise stores.

At the Direct Response/E-Commerce divi-sion, net sales grew by 14.3% to US$60.1 mil-lion. The majority of the rise had been driven

by online sales, NBTY said, noting that cata-logue sales had also increased. Online sales ac-counted for 52% of turnover, the company said,up from 49% in the same quarter a year earlier.

Operating income fell by 9.1% to US$14.9million, due primarily to higher advertising andamortisation costs.

Opening a number of new Vitamin Worldstores boosted turnover at the North AmericanRetail division, with sales rising by 4.0% toUS$53.5 million. Same-store sales improved by1.9%. However, increased advertising and amor-tisation costs had caused a 9.5% drop in oper-ating profit to US$1.88 million, NBTY said.

As of 31 December 2010, North AmericanRetail was operating 457 Vitamin World storesin the US and 81 Le Naturiste outlets in Canada.

8 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC COMPANY NEWS

First-Quarter Results

NBTY reports loss in wake of takeover

Business First-quarter Change Operating profit Changesales (US$ millions) (%) (US$ millions) (%)

Wholesale/US Nutrition 457 -3 94 +9

European Retail 172 -3 29 -18

Direct Response/E-Commerce 60 +14 15 -9

North American Retail 54 +4 2 -10

Corporate/Others – – -178 –

Total NBTY 742 -1.2 -39 –

Figure 1: NBTY’s sales and pre-tax profit in the firm’s first quarter ended 31 December 2010 (Source – NBTY)

OTC

Avicenna said that enhancing member ser-vices, acquiring pharmacies and expand-

ing its brand portfolio would all play a part ingrowing the UK-based virtual pharmacy chainin the coming years, as it reported a double-digit rise in 2010 sales.

Turnover had grown by 22% to £10.0 mil-lion in 2010, Avicenna said, while pre-tax prof-its had jumped from £0.8 million (C0.9 million)to £1.8 million. Avicenna claimed that with over1,000 members it now represented a quarterof all independent pharmacies in the UK.

Expanding member servicesLooking ahead, the company said that it

planned to roll out a number of member ser-vices during 2011. These included a smoking-cessation project in collaboration with McNeilProducts and a new back office support func-tion called Ace+.

A fall-prevention programme for older con-

sumers, which was successfully trialled lastyear, would also be made available to all mem-bers, Avicenna said. Furthermore, the comp-any was looking into acquiring pharmacies,and was carrying out due diligence on a fewopportunities, it pointed out.

Explaining the move, the company said ac-quiring its own pharmacies would not onlyboost sales, but also enable it to test servicesbefore rolling them out.

However, Avicenna warned that any acqui-sition would be made on a purely commercialbasis, and that pharmacies with low turnoverwould not be considered.

Expanding the company’s small portfolioof brands was also on the agenda, Avicennastated, adding that it was currently evaluatingpotential brand acquisitions.

The company owns the Balmosa topical painreliever and the Moltex ecological nappy range.

Annual Results

Avicenna makes plans as sales rise

Boehringer Ingelheim has awarded globaladvertising accounts for its Bisolvon and

Mucosolvan cough remedies – as well as forits Buscopan gastrointestinal brand – to theYoung & Rubicam communications agencyfollowing a recent pitch.

Germany will take the leadYoung & Rubicam Frankfurt will take the

lead role on the accounts, supported by Milan’sRed Cell business. “Work in Europe, Asia andLatin America will get underway shortly,” theagency stated.

“We will unleash the full power of our net-work to expand these important brands aroundthe world,” promised David Sable, global chiefexecutive officer of Young & Rubicam.

Business Strategy

Boehringer signsYoung & Rubicam

OTC OTC

OTC31-03-11p8-9FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:43 Page 2

Nutritional supplement and direct-sales spe-cialist Reliv International said turnover

had declined by 7.8% to US$78.7 million (C55.7million) in 2010, as US sales were hit by theimpact of the recession.

The US-based firm said domestic sales haddropped by a tenth over the 12 months, due tothe “lingering impact of the recession”.

In contrast to the company’s domestic per-formance, international sales had increased by14.4% in 2010, Reliv pointed out.

Reliv’s operating income for 2010 droppedby 23.6% to US$2.91 million.

Double-digit growth from its Linola med-icated skincare and Vagisan feminine care

ranges helped Germany’s Dr Wolff group to in-crease its pharmaceutical sales by 14% to C61million in 2010.

Including sales of cosmetic products, groupturnover rose by a tenth to C181 million in the12 months (see Figure 1).

Dr Wolff said its Linola range of dry-skintreatments had “picked up speed” with 19%sales growth to C31 million. “Unlike its com-petitors, the line is growing dynamically andwinning market share,” the firm commented.

The Linola Gesicht variant for dry facialskin had become market leader, the Germancompany said, as had the Linola Hautmilchbody milk. The core Linola Fett product reg-istered sales of C22 million, contributing justover half of Dr Wolff’s total dermatology turn-over of C41 million.

A 37% rise in sales of the hormone-free lub-ricant Vagisan Feuchtcreme raised total gynae-cology turnover by 18% to C16 million. “Wesee more potential for this product, as we arejust starting to educate women of its benefits,”Dr Wolff pointed out.

A proof-of-concept study for an anti-inflam-matory peptide as a treatment for ulcerative col-itis is scheduled to start in the second half of thisyear. Initial in vitro and in vivo work on an anti-inflammatory skincare compound that Dr Wolffhad licensed from university partners was “verypromising”, added the company, which invested

more than a tenth of its turnover in researchand development.

Turnover growth of 7% to C121 million bythe Dr Kurt Wolff cosmetics division includedC47 million from the Alpecin shampoo rangethat the company is currently rolling out in theUK. The professional haircare line Alcina con-tributed C34 million.

Dr Wolff said that strong sales in the BalticStates, the Czech Republic and Hungary – aswell as securing new partners in Qatar, Por-tugal and South Africa – had increased its ex-port turnover by 8% to around C20 million, or11% of total group sales. “Bureaucratic setbacksin Italy and the UK held back our advance,” theGerman company noted.

For 2011, managing director Eduard Dörren-berg expects 5% group sales growth to aboutC190 million. A key growth driver, he forecast-ed, would be the recently-launched Acne Attack,which was the “first medical device that inhibitsbacteria developing on the skin” in Germany.

Dr Wolff is supporting Acne Attack withtelevision advertising on channels includingRTL and SAT1, as well as through a campaignin women’s magazines such as Brigitte, Bunteand Freundin. Packs of the oil-free cream –which is available from pharmacies and select-ed drugstores with a recommended retail priceof C11.95 – carry the strapline “Raus aus derPickelspirale”, or “Escape the spot spiral”.

931 March 2011 OTC bulletin

COMPANY NEWS OTC

Annual Results

Linola and Vagisan lift sales at Dr WolffProduct Annual sales Change

(CCmillions) (%)

Cosmetics 121 +7

Linola 31 +19Other dermatology 10 –Gynaecology 16 +18Others 4 –Pharmaceuticals 61 +14

Total Dr Wolff 181 +10

Figure 1: Breakdown by division and product type ofDr Wolff’s turnover in 2010 (Source – Dr Wolff)

OTC

Annual Results

Reliv Internationalhit by sales decline

OTC

OTC31-03-11p8-9FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:43 Page 3

Alliance Pharma is set to acquire the UKand Irish rights to Reckitt Benckiser’s An-

besol and Ashton & Parsons mouth-pain reliefbrands for £2.55 million (C2.90 million) in cash.

Used to treat mouth ulcers, teething painsand denture irritations, Anbesol generated salesof £1.3 million in 2010, Alliance Pharma said,while Ashton & Parsons, which is used in in-fants to relieve pain and stomach upsets caus-ed by teething, posted sales of £0.8 million.

However, Ashton & Parsons’ sales had been“somewhat lower than normal” in the past fewmonths due to certain production problems,Alliance Pharma pointed out, a situation thecompany would be seeking to resolve.

Based on the contribution of Anbesol alone,the proposed acquisition would be earnings en-hancing in the current financial year, the com-pany noted, adding that the gross margin ratesof both brands were in line with the company’sexisting portfolio.

Reckitt Benckiser agreed to sell Anbesoland Ashton & Parsons to gain approval from

the European Commission for its £2.54 billionacquisition of SSL International last year (OTCbulletin, 15 October 2010, page 3). The sale ofthe two brands to Alliance Pharma is conditionalon the approval of the European Commission.

Alliance Pharma generated sales up by 60%to £49.9 million in 2010 from a portfolio ofproducts focused on dermatology, nutrition andoncology. Operating profit grew even faster, ris-ing by 66% to £18.7 million.

10 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC COMPANY NEWS

Mergers & Acquisitions

Alliance Pharma poisedto acquire Anbesol brand

Alliance Pharma pointed out that the Anbesol brandhad sales of £1.3 million in 2010

OTC

Business Strategy

Sinclair expandsin Indian market

The joint venture formed by UK-based drug-discovery firm SEEK and speciality phar-

maceutical company Pernix Therapeutics hasput the rights to its theobromine cough suppres-sant up for auction.

Administered by JP Morgan, the auctionwould be for global commercialisation rightsto theobromine, excluding Korea, SEEK said,adding the decision to hold the auction hadbeen taken due to the interest shown withinthe pharmaceutical industry for the drug.

A “first-in-class” antitussive drug candi-date in late-stage development, theobromineaddressed the “significant need” for a non-opioid, non-codeine treatment for persistentcough, SEEK claimed.

In South Korea, theobromine had alreadyshown efficacy and non-inferiority versus co-deine in a phase III study, the company point-ed out, adding that a marketing authorisationhad been granted to local firm Ahngook.

Manfred Scheske, chief executive officer ofthe SEEK/Pernix joint venture, said the com-pany believed theobromine was a “low-risk as-

set” and would be the “first new treatment forcough in over 50 years”.

Furthermore, the drug had “substantial pot-ential” as a prescription medicine, Scheske in-sisted, and might also become “one of the mostsignificant global OTC switch opportunities fora long time”.

“Given the prevalence of the condition andthe need for a non-opioid, non-codeine coughproduct, theobromine will be an important newtreatment option for physicians and patients,”he commented.

SEEK’s portfolio of potential consumerhealthcare products also includes a small-mol-ecule drug for inflammatory flare which hasa clinically-proven analgesic safety profile andis entering Phase III trials (OTC bulletin, 15October 2010, page 1).

Scheske insisted SEEK’s consumer health-care unit was “uniquely positioned” to bringbreakthrough products to the two largest con-sumer health markets “which have not seensubstantial innovation in decades”.

Business Opportunities

SEEK to auction cough-drug rights

OTC

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)in the US has decided that labelling for

OTC proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) does nothave to warn users about a possible increas-ed risk of fractures.

Last year, the regulatory agency issued aDrug Safety Communication on PPIs citing apossible increased risk of fractures of the hip,wrist and spine with their use. It said labellingfor both prescription and non-prescription med-icines containing PPIs should be changed to re-flect the new safety information (OTC bulletin,31 May 2010, page 1).

Following a thorough review of the avail-able safety data, the FDA has now concludedthat the fracture risk with short-term use of low-dose PPIs is “unlikely”. The available data showthat patients at highest risk of fractures receiv-ed high doses of prescription PPIs and/or useda PPI for one year or more.

The FDA acknowledged that OTC PPIs,such as Procter & Gamble’s Prilosec OTC andNovartis Consumer Health’s Prevacid 24HR,were marketed at low doses and were only in-tended for a 14-day course of treatment up tothree times a year.

Regulatory Affairs

FDA reverseson PPIs in US

OTC

Sinclair Pharma is set to grow its presencein India after signing up biopharmaceutical

company Invida Holdings Private to commer-cialise its dermatology and wound-care rangesin the country.

The deal expands on the UK-based firm’sexisting agreement with Invida, which currentlycovers 11 markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Initially, Invida would focus on launchingSinclair’s atopic dermatitis, seborrhoeic der-matitis and acne products, the firm said, addingthat Invida would be supported by Sinclair’sown locally-based regional business director.

Meanwhile, Sinclair reported sales up by28% to £14.1 million (C16.0 million) in the sixmonths ended 31 December 2010. In constant-currency terms, the rise was 37%.

OTC

OTC31-03-11p10-11FIN.qxd 31/3/11 07:14 Page 2

Germany’s federal institute for drugs andmedical devices, BfArM, is to conduct a

comparative analysis of all triptans after thecountry’s Expert Committee for Prescription vot-ed earlier this year to postpone a decision onwhether rizatriptan could be safely sold with-out a prescription.

Documents just released by BfArM show theexpert committee was unhappy with the level ofevidence supplied with an application to switchrizatriptan, the active ingredient in Merck, Sharp& Dohme’s Maxalt migraine treatment (OTCbulletin, 21 January 2011, page 15).

One committee member could not under-stand why the applicant had sought to switcha 10mg form of rizatriptan to non-prescriptionstatus while the 5mg version would remain pre-scription-only. A representative of BfArM in-sisted on the need to reduce the dose of riza-

triptan to avoid liver and kidney problems.Having agreed that it lacked the data to as-

sess the safety profile of rizatriptan, the com-mittee asked BfArM to compare the efficacyand side-effect profile of triptans before mak-ing any switch recommendations for migrainetreatments.

Naratriptan was switched to non-prescrip-tion status in Germany over four years ago. Themove was in part on the grounds that it had theweakest efficacy of all triptans, so patients thatfound it ineffective would seek advice from adoctor (OTC bulletin, 14 April 2006, page 15).

Almotriptan and sumatriptan have also beenproposed for a switch to non-prescription sta-tus in Germany, but the reclassifications havebeen held up by legal concerns about labellingraised by BfArM.

1131 March 2011 OTC bulletin

GENERAL NEWS OTC

Improved efficiency and a better service toapplicants should be the outcome of the Euro-

pean Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) e3 pro-gramme, intended to prepare the agency forintroducing application fees.

“We are making these changes to providea service similar to the one given in other Euro-pean agencies such as the European MedicinesAgency (EMA),” EFSA’s executive directorCatherine Geslain-Lanéelle said when pre-senting the changes to EFSA’s managementboard earlier this month.

Starting on 1 May 2011, the changes shouldbe fully implemented by the end of this year.Most apparent to users will be a new applica-tion desk within the directorate responsible forthe scientific evaluation of regulated products.

Not only would this new unit strengthenclient focus and prepare EFSA for a fee-bas-ed system, Geslain-Lanéelle said, it would alsoprovide a help-desk service to applicants. Inter-nal processes would benefit from better co-ordi-nation and streamlining, she added.

Welcoming the changes, the Association ofthe European Self-Medication Industry, theAESGP, said they were in line with its own rec-ommendations on how the agency should dealwith its applicants.

Geslain-Lanéelle said EFSA aimed at pro-cessing between 700 and 1,000 applications ayear while maintaining its ability to delivergeneral scientific opinions on major publichealth risks.

Switches

Germany’s BfArM revealsplan to compare triptans

OTC

Regulatory Affairs

EFSA has plan tobe more like EMA

OTC

Strategic Alliances

■ Continued from front page

positions in Brazil, Germany, India and Russia.In Russia, where OTC products were sold

in pharmacies, Teva’s relationship with phar-macy had made it a leading OTC player, Yanaipointed out, enabling it to market Procter &Gamble’s product portfolio in the country.

Meanwhile in Brazil and India, Procter &Gamble had established strong brand recog-nition and consumer loyalty, Yanai said, whichcould be used to boost Teva’s presence.

Procter & Gambleteams with Teva

OTC

OTC31-03-11p10-11FIN.qxd 31/3/11 07:14 Page 3

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● Hyaluronic acid foam

● Taste-maskedibuprofen

● Water-based vitaminD3 drops

rev 2011SourceOTC A4 ad.indd 1 17/01/2011 10:34

Ratiopharm has returned to German televi-sion screens with an umbrella campaign

that once again uses pairs of twins to conveythe equivalence of its generic OTC products tobranded versions.

From 28 March, an initial commercial foc-uses on the company’s broad range of head-ache treatments. The campaign created by Stutt-gart’s Die Crew agency will cover other indica-tions in future.

Advertising featuring twins helped to makeRatiopharm into Germany’s most widely-recog-nised pharmaceutical brand. However, after Phil-ipp Merckle replaced Claudio Albrecht as thegenerics specialist’s managing director, Ratio-pharm abandoned the twins in favour of a cor-porate responsibility message under the “Worldin Balance” strapline (OTC bulletin, 15 June2007, page 3).

Dr Sven Dethlefs – who has headed Ratio-pharm since its C3.63 billion takeover by Israeligenerics firm Teva last year (OTC bulletin, 13August 2010, page 3) – said twins spoke tothe German public on an emotional level. “Theiridentification with Ratiopharm is high, becausewho doesn’t know the slogan of Germany’s best-known medicines brand – Gute Preise. GuteBesserung,” commented Dethlefs.

During the current 24-second headache com-mercial, a pair of female twins deliver not only

the “Gute Preise. Gute Besserung” – or “Goodprices. Good recovery” – slogan, but also thefamiliar message that “Dafür gibt’s doch Ratio-pharm” or “For that, there’s Ratiopharm”.

The twins appear after a series of other peo-ple explain how Ratiopharm helps them dealwith their headaches.

All the characters are presented sitting in arevolving ball chair. “The soft interior of theball chair symbolises wellbeing and security,”Ratiopharm explained, adding: “The chair’shard exterior denotes a defence against pain,stress and illness.”

1331 March 2011 OTC bulletin

MARKETING NEWS OTC

Marketing Campaigns

Ratiopharm returns totwin-based advertising

A pair of female twins star in Ratiopharm’s newtelevision commercial in Germany

OTC

Doetsch Grether has introduced MagnesiumDiasporal in Switzerland as the local mar-

keting partner for Germany’s Protina.Launch trade-press advertising created by

the Schmittgall agency uses the headline “Leis-tung, die ankommt”, which translates as “Per-formance that delivers”. It also highlights thatthe 300mg sachets deliver 12.4 millimoles ofmagnesium.

Doetsch Grether already has a presence inSwitzerland’s magnesium market through itsActiv Magnesium effervescent tablets and sol-uble granule sachets.

Launches

Magnesium Diasporalarrives in Switzerland

OTC

Sanofi-Aventis has expanded its Bronchofortonrespiratory brand in Germany by launching lozengescontaining 26mg of dried ivy-leaf extract.

Current trade-press advertising (pictured above)claims that the line extension is Germany’s “firstherbal lozenge based on ivy”. It also points out thatthe two-a-day, blackcurrant-flavoured lozenges areideal for relieving catarrh whilst travelling.

A pack of 20 pharmacy-only lozenges has arecommended retail selling price of CC6.32.

The Bronchoforton brand, which Sanofi-Aventismarkets under its Winthrop label, also includescapsules, ointments, an instant tea and a vaporiser.

OTC

MSD Consumer Care has relaunched its Diprobaserange of emollients in the UK with new packaging.

The company described the colour-coded designs– blue for the bath formulation, yellow for the cream,and green for the ointment – as “patient-friendlypackaging”. It stressed that the product formulationsremained the same.

Advertising in the pharmacy press (picturedabove) points out that “The UK’s No.1 emollient hasa brand new look”.

MSD Consumer Care is also supporting Diprobasewith a website for people with eczema atwww.EczemaZones.co.uk. Zones within the websiteprovide information for different types of eczemasufferer. The Eczema Jungle is aimed at childrenunder five years of age, the Eczema Robots sectionprovides information for the under 12s, the ConfidentLiving zone gives support for adults with eczema, andthe Happy Days area is for parents and carers.

OTC

McNeil has expanded its ibuprofen-basedDolormin analgesic brand in Germany

with a topical gel for reducing pain and swell-ing around joints.

Dolormin Mobil Gel contains 5% ibupro-fen and is indicated for adults and children agedfrom 14 years.

A 50g tube of the pharmacy-only gel – man-ufactured by Bonn-based Dolorgiet – has a re-commended retail price of C6.96, while a 100gpack retails at C12.65.

McNeil markets a wide range of Dolormintablets for various indications and target groups,as well as granules and a liquid. Naproxen tab-lets for joint pain are available under the brandname Dolormin GS. The brand had previouslyalso included a 2.5% ketoprofen topical gel.

Dolormin expandswith ibuprofen gel

Line Extensions

OTC

OTC31-03-11p13FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:47 Page 3

14 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC MARKETING NEWS

Manx Healthcare is offering 500mg tranex-amic acid tablets as a pharmacy medicine

in the UK under the Femstrual brand.The move comes soon after Meda Pharma-

ceuticals launched 500mg tranexamic acid tab-lets as Cyklo-F Heavy Period Flow Relief und-er the Boots Pharmaceuticals umbrella brand.The exclusive arrangement with retailer Bootswas criticised by The Royal Pharmaceutical Soci-ety (OTC bulletin, 11 February 2011, page 17).

By contrast, Femstrual will be available froma wide range of pharmacy retailers, includingchains and independents.

Femstrual comes in a pack of 18 tablets witha recommended retail selling price of £7.95(C9.05). This compares with £8.99 for Meda’sCyklo-F.

The predominantly yellow packaging carriesa strapline advising consumers that Femstrualis indicated “For the reduction of heavy men-strual bleeding over several cycles for womenwith regular cycles”.

Manx Healthcare is backing the launch withtrade and consumer advertising this year. Phar-

macy training has been distributed with Phar-macy magazine.

The two launches come nearly a year afterthe UK’s Medicines and Healthcare productsRegulatory Agency (MHRA) gave Meda Phar-maceuticals the go-ahead for tranexamic acidtablets to be switched from prescription-onlyto pharmacy (POM-to-P) status (OTC bulletin,16 April 2010, page 15).

The MHRA started consulting on Meda’sswitch application four years ago (OTC bul-letin, 27 February 2007, page 9).

Switches

Manx takes on Cyklo-Fwith Femstrual launch

Manx said Femstrual would be available from bothchain and independent pharmacies in the UK

OTC

Complaints about Passion for Life Health-care’s advertising for Femarelle have been

upheld by the Advertising Standards Author-ity (ASA) in the UK.

The Proprietary Association of Great Brit-ain (PAGB) raised four objections to a maga-zine advertisement for the food supplementaimed at menopausal women. The advertise-ment had appeared in Menopause Matters.

The PAGB said that the advertisement mademedicinal claims, such as alleviation of “hotflushes, mood swings, crushing fatigue andsleepless nights”, and “90% of menopausalwomen report an improvement in their healthand wellbeing”. The industry association alsomaintained the claim “endorsed & recommend-ed by leading doctors and gynaecologists” mis-leadingly implied a medical benefit.

Furthermore, the PAGB felt the advertise-ment misleadingly implied that Femarelle was“clinically proven” as a medicine to help withthe menopause. In addition, it said the claims

“Proven and effective – without the risks” and“Femarelle has no effect on the breast or uterustissue or blood clotting” implied Femarelle wasan alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

In a separate ruling, the ASA rejected a com-plaint about Healthspan’s mail-order cataloguefor nutritional supplements. The complainantbelieved that product names featured in thecatalogue – Brain Synergex, Heart Synergex,Joint Synergex and Optiflex Glucosamine –misleadingly implied product efficacy that couldnot be substantiated. Furthermore, the adver-tising for Brain Synergex and Heart Synergexmight discourage essential treatment for con-ditions where medical supervision might besought, insisted the complainant.

The Authority has also upheld a complaintabout Metabolics’ leaflet for the Bright Eyes,Colon Cleanse and Memory Recall food sup-plements, as well as one about an e-mail fromNatures Naturals.

Advertising Complaints

UK’s ASA raps Passion for Life

Actavis has extended its Gastrocote indigestionand heartburn remedy in the UK with two smaller“consumer-friendly” pack sizes.

The company noted that large-volume packsof Gastrocote had been available to generalpractitioners for prescribing and dispensingfor many years.

Gastrocote Liquid is now available in a 150mlbottle, while Gastrocote Tablets now come in a packof 20. Actavis pointed out that the packs had a “newmodern design”, incorporating a wave visual thatreflected the “soothing and relieving” properties ofthe general-sales list medicines.

Both packs carry the strapline “Eases thediscomfort of indigestion and heartburn”.

Recommended retail selling prices forGastrocote Liquid are £2.99 (CC3.39) for 150ml and£4.70 for 500ml, while the tablets are priced £1.99for 20 and £6.15 for 100.

A hiker who is having difficulty breathing is thecentral character in a new television advertisingcampaign for Klosterfrau’s Soledum herbal coldremedy in Germany.

As the 30-second commercial devised by theagency Performance Factory begins, the hiker issuffering from a cough, runny nose and pressure inhis head. As he looks towards a nearby mountain, thehiker takes a Soledum capsule.

Against the backdrop of the mountain, acomputer-generated image shows how the eucalyptusextract in Soledum frees up mucus, relieves pressureand makes breathing easier. A softgel capsule thenpasses over the summit of the mountain as avoiceover signs off with the brand slogan “KleineKapsel. Grosse Wirkung”, or “Small capsule. Big effect”.

This final image also appears in currenttrade-press advertising (pictured above), whichfeatures the headline “So kommen Ihre Kundenschneller über den Erkältungsberg”. This translatesas “So your customers get over the cold mountainmore quickly”.

OTC

OTC

OTC

OTC31-03-11p14-15FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:54 Page 2

“Put pollen out with Prevalin” is OmegaPharma’s promise to Britons for its new

hayfever remedy.The company is backing the launch of Pre-

valin with a national television advertising cam-paign, which gets underway on 21 April, as wellas public relations targeting consumers.

Developed for international use, Omega’sconsumer advertising positions Prevalin as a“next-generation” hayfever treatment. “You knowhow it feels when your hayfever symptoms areabout to explode,” states the advertising, whichfeatures an image of a female jogger with alighted fuse attached to her head, adding: “Putpollen out with Prevalin.”

In addition to the UK, Prevalin has recentlybeen launched in Australia, the Czech Republic,Greece and Portugal. It was already availablein France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

A medical device, Prevalin is claimed byOmega to provide “immediate and effectiverelief from both nasal and eye symptoms with-out the side-effects often experienced with oth-er treatments”.

The company noted that the product was athixotropic nasal spray that was a gel at rest anda fluid when shaken. “The fine mist de-activatespollen already in the nose, forms a microgel bar-rier that prevents further pollen from irritatingthe nasal mucosa, and stimulates the clearanceof allergens from the nose,” explained the com-pany. “The patented technology ensures thatthe long-lasting microgel layer is stable andevenly spread.”

Prevalin was not absorbed by the body, add-ed Omega, so “pharmacists now have a safe,drug-free alternative they can recommend to alltheir customers, including pregnant and breast-feeding women”.

Prevalin Allergy nasal spray is supplied in a20ml pack lasting one month, which has a rec-ommended retail selling price of £9.99 (C11.35).

Straplines on the packaging point out that theproduct is for “Relief and protection from symp-toms of hayfever and other common allergies”,and that it is “non-drowsy” and “antihistamineand steroid-free”.

A version for children is also available.Omega said that Prevalin would initially be

available exclusively from pharmacies, but therewere plans to extend distribution to other re-tail outlets.

1531 March 2011 OTC bulletin

MARKETING NEWS OTC

Straplines on the packaging of new Prevalin Allergynasal spray in the UK point out that the product doesnot contain antihistamines or steroids

Omega Pharma has developed an internationalconsumer advertising campaign for Prevalin Allergy

Launches

Omega claims Prevalinprotects from hayfever

OTC

A fire-breathing dragon symbolises a pleasant warmingfeeling in German television advertising for BoehringerIngelheim’s Finalgon Wärmecreme analgesic.

A 20-second commercial created by the Hamburgagency Lukas Lindemann Rosinski is based around ananimated man suffering from a sore back. However,when the man applies Finalgon cream, the dragonappears and breathes fire onto his back. The manfinds that he can move freely.

The sign-off message is “Heizt ein. Tut gut”,which translates as “Heats up. Does you good”.

Current trade-press advertising (pictured above)uses images from the television commercial andhighlights a study by Cologne’s sports college,which shows that Finalgon’s active ingredients– 1.08% nicoboxil and 0.17% nonivamide – have asynergistic effect.

The pharmacy-only medicine – which is indicatedfor promoting circulation to muscles and joints – hasa recommended retail price of CC9.45 for a 50g tube.

Meanwhile, Boehringer Ingelheim has receivedapproval to introduce a capsaicin-based creamin Germany under the brand name Finalgon CPDWärmecreme.

■ NELSONS is backing its Rescue Remedyin the UK with a national support service forstressed workers who want to let off steam. Thecompany is encouraging disgruntled workersto draft an e-mail outlining their situation, whythey feel it is unfair and what they think should

happen. Instead of sending the e-mail to therightful recipient, says Nelsons, the worker cansend it to RescueRant@nelsons.net. E-mail send-ers will receive advice from the Nelsons team,including free samples of Rescue Remedy.

A combination of 11g collagen hydrolysate and100mg chondroitin sulphate is the latest addition toQueisser Pharma’s pharmacy-exclusive DoppelherzSystem range of supplements in Germany.

Current trade-press advertising claims thatthe supplement offers the “ingenious combination”of Doppelherz quality and a “delicious fruits ofthe forest flavour”.

Each 25ml drinkable ampoule also provides60mg vitamin C and 5µg vitamin D3, as well as300µg of copper and 16.5µg of selenium.

Claims on the packs state that collagenhydrolysate “contributes to the function andmovement of joints” and “supports the regenerationof joint cartilage”.

A pack of 30 ampoules of Doppelherz SystemKollagen 11.000 Plus has a recommended retailselling price of CC36.95.

IN BRIEF

OTCOTC

OTC

OTC31-03-11p14-15FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:54 Page 3

16 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC MARKETING NEWS

Novartis Consumer Health is taking its Otri-ven cold remedy into Germany’s hayfever

arena by introducing a beclometasone dipro-pionate nasal spray under the Otriven AllergieAktiv brand name.

According to Novartis, the beclometasonespray is particularly suitable for hayfever suf-ferers who have a blocked nose or who sufferfrom recurring symptoms.

“Unlike many other products,” claimed Nov-artis, “Otriven Allergie Aktiv has a dual effectin tackling allergies and reducing inflamma-tion.” Furthermore, the company asserted, thenewcomer – which is indicated for the short-term treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis inadults and children aged from 12 years old –did not cause drowsiness and could be used“for several weeks”.

By delivering two sprays in each nostril twicea day, Novartis said people using Otriven Al-

lergie Aktiv would experience “a notable im-provement in symptoms within 24 hours atthe latest”.

A 10ml bottle of the pharmacy-only med-icine – which comes in bright yellow packag-ing – has a recommended retail selling priceof C9.25.

Beclometasone dipropionate nasal sprayshave been available without a prescription inGermany since 1997.

Previously positioned as cold remedyPreviously, Otriven was positioned as a cold

remedy in Germany. The brand comprised arange of nasal sprays, nasal gels and eye dropsbased on xylometazoline, as well as a sprayfor infants that contained phenylephrine.

In addition, a dexpanthenol spray to helpheal nasal membranes is marketed under theOtriven Pflege label.

Two years ago, Novartis applied to switcha combination nasal spray containing 0.06%ipratropium and 0.05% xylometazoline underthe brand name Otriven Duo (OTC bulletin,30 October 2009, page 13).

Novartis Consumer Health’s new Otriven AllergieAktiv is a hayfever remedy containingbeclometasone dipropionate

Line Extensions

Novartis takes Otriveninto the hayfever arena

OTC

OTC31-03-11p16FIN.qxd 30/3/11 12:58 Page 2

1731 March 2011 OTC bulletin

EVENTS OTC

13 April■ Health Supplements

and Functional FoodsSingaporeSubtitled the ‘Secrets of success-ful regulatory strategies in Europe,Latin America and Asia’, this one-day workshop will provide an over-view of different regulations andpractices.Contact: EAS.Tel: +65 68 38 12 70.Fax: +65 68 35 95 36.E-mail: info@eas.asia.Website: www.eas.eu.

5 May■■ Basics of

Regulatory AffairsLondon, UKA one-day course from The Org-anisation for Professionals in Reg-ulatory Affairs (TOPRA).Contact: TOPRA.Tel: +44 20 7510 2560.Fax: +44 20 7537 2003.E-mail: meetings@topra.org.Website: www.topra.org.

5-6 May■■ 2011 Regulatory &

Scientific ConferenceBethesda, Maryland, USA two-day regulatory and scien-tific conference organised by theUS Consumer Healthcare Prod-ucts Association (CHPA).Contact: Maria Sarabia, CHPA.Tel: +1 202 429 3545.Fax: +1 202 223 6835.E-mail: msarabia@chpa-info.org.Website: www.chpa-info.org.

6 May■■ Marketing Authorisation

in the CIS CountriesFrankfurt, GermanyBelarus, Kazakhstan, Russia andUkraine will be the main focus ofthis one-day seminar.Contact: Dr Henriette Wolf-Klein,Forum Institut für Management.Tel: +49 6221 500 680.Fax: +49 6221 500 555.E-mail: h.wolf-klein@forum-institut.de.Website: www.forum-institut.com.

10 May■ Molecule Life Cycle

ManagementLondon, UKRepresentatives of the UK’s Med-icines and Healthcare productsRegulatory Agency (MHRA) will

speak at this one-day seminar foc-using on switches.Contact: Zain Philbey, SMi Group.Tel: +44 20 7827 6722.Fax: +44 20 7827 6001.E-mail: zphilbey@smi-online.co.uk.Website: www.smi-online.co.uk.

10-12 May■ Vitafoods

Geneva, SwitzerlandA three-day exhibition and confer-ence focusing on nutraceuticals,cosmeceuticals, functional foodsand functional drinks.Contact: Chris Lee, IIR Exhibitions.Tel: +44 20 7017 7036.Fax: +44 20 7017 7818.E-mail: vitafoods@iirx.co.uk.Website: www.vitafoods.eu.com.

17-19 May■ Russian Pharmaceutical

ForumSt. Petersburg, RussiaSpeakers from the Association ofthe European Self-Medication In-dustry, the AESGP, Merck Ser-ono, Novartis Group Russia, Pfiz-er and Sanofi-Aventis will takepart in this three-day event.Contact: Adam Smith Conferences.Tel: +44 20 7017 7444.Fax: +44 20 7017 7447.E-mail: events@adamsmithconferences.com.Website: www.russianpharma.com.

25-27 May■ Pharmaceutical

Regulatory Affairsin Asia – including IndiaLondon, UKDay one of this three-day seminarwill discuss regulatory affairs inChina, while day two will focuson India and day three will coverKorea and Taiwan.Contact: Management Forum.Tel: +44 1483 730071.Fax: +44 1483 730008.E-mail: registrations@management-forum.co.uk.Website: www.management-forum.co.uk.

30-31 May■ EuroPLX 46

Vienna, AustriaA two-day partnering and licens-ing forum focusing on OTC medi-cines, nutraceuticals, branded pre-scription drugs and generics.Contact: RauCon.Tel: +49 6222 9807 0.Fax: +49 6222 9807 77.E-mail: meetyou@europlx.com.Website: www.europlx.com.

6-7 June■ DIA European Regulatory

Affairs Forum 2011London, UKPharmacovigilance and the cen-tralised procedure will be discuss-ed at this two-day conference.Contact: DIA Europe.Tel: +41 61 225 5151.Fax: +41 61 225 5152.E-mail: diaeurope@diaeurope.org.Website: www.diahome.org.

9 June■ The Nutrition and Health

Claims RegulationBrussels, BelgiumSubtitled ‘Dealing with the present– planning for the future’, this one-day conference will cover apply-ing to the European Food SafetyAuthority (EFSA) for authorisa-tion of claims.Contact: EAS.Tel: +32 2 218 1470.E-mail: workshop@eas.eu.Website: www.eas.eu.

19-23 June■ 47th DIA Annual

MeetingChicago, Illinois, US‘Convergence of science, medi-cine and health’ is the theme ofthis five-day event, which is theannual meeting of the Drug In-formation Association (DIA).Contact: Vicki Adkinson, DIA.Tel: +1 215 442 6162.Fax: +1 215 442 6199.E-mail: vicki.adkinson@diahome.org.Website: www.diahome.org.

21 June■ Marketing Authorisation

in South Africa,Australia andNew ZealandFrankfurt, GermanyThis one-day conference will lookat the pharmaceutical markets andmarketing authorisation proced-ures in Australia, New Zealand andSouth Africa.Contact: Dr Henriette Wolf-Klein,Forum Institut für Management.Tel: +49 6221 500 680.Fax: +49 6221 500 555.E-mail: h.wolf-klein@forum-institut.de.Website: www.forum-institut.com.

27-28 June■ Regulatory Affairs

in Africa – includingSouth AfricaLondon, UKCountries that will be covered atthis two-day conference includeAlgeria, Ghana, Morocco, Nige-ria, Tanzania and Uganda.Contact: Management Forum.Tel: +44 1483 730071.Fax: +44 1483 730008.E-mail: registrations@management-forum.co.uk.Website: www.management-forum.co.uk.

27-29 June■ Stepping It Up

Basel, SwitzerlandA three-day pharmaceutical mar-ket research conference.Contact: EphMRA.Tel: +41 22 33 99 596.Fax: +41 22 33 99 631.E-mail: ephmra.reghot@mci-group.com.Website: www.ephmra.org.

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

8-10 June■ 47th AESGP Annual Meeting

Rome, Italy‘A new treaty for self-care’ will be the theme of the 47th Annual Meetingof the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry, the AESGP.

The three-day meeting will include a session entitled ‘Self-medicationindustry quo vadis?’, featuring presentations from Cavan Redmond, pre-sident of Pfizer Diversified Businesses, and Emma Walmsley, world-wide president designate of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

Speakers at the meeting will also include: John Dalli, European com-missioner for health and consumer policy; Ferruccio Fazio, Italian min-ister of health; Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, vice-president of the EuropeanParliament; Andreas Pott of the European Medicines Agency (EMA);Vittorio Silano of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); BasilMathioudakis of the European Commission; June Raine from the UK’sMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA); AndyTisman, senior principal, Consumer Health at IMS Management Con-sulting; and Stefano Maruzzi, country manager at Google Italy.Contact: Association of the European Self-Medication Industry, the AESGP.Tel: +32 2 735 51 30. Fax: +32 2 735 52 22.E-mail: l.gits@aesgp.be. Website: www.aesgp.be.

OTC31-03-11p17FIN.qxd 30/3/11 13:03 Page 3

France’s ‘free-access’ initiative, whichpermits self-selection displays of par-ticular non-prescription medicines inpharmacies, has steadily increased in

scale and scope since it was introduced in mid-2008. According to the French OTC industryassociation, AFIPA, the number of pharmacieswith free-access displays of non-prescriptionmedicines increased from one in three in 2009to almost one in two in 2010.

Furthermore, more than 350 medicines arenow covered by the initiative, which representsan increase of over 100 since it was introduc-ed on 1 July 2008 (OTC bulletin, 31 July 2008,page 17).

This progress, however, has failed to stopthe French OTC market from faltering.

According to figures from market research-er IMS Consumer Health, total self-medicationsales of non-prescription medicines dropped by

0.8% to C1.9 billion in 2010. Most of this totalcame from the country’s ‘strict’ OTC market– self-medication sales of non-reimbursable,non-prescription medicines – which fell by 0.7%to C1.59 billion, while sales of C345 million for‘semi-ethical’ products – reimbursable, non-prescription medicines – represented a 1.3% de-cline on the previous year. France’s total mar-ket for non-prescription medicines dropped backby 3.9% to C5.3 billion (see Figure 1).

Lower spending powerAFIPA’s president, Vincent Cotard, acknowl-

edged that the figures for 2010 were “lacklus-tre”. The association said the decline in salesacross the board for non-prescription medicinescould be explained by the lack of any significantillness trends, such as the concerns about fluthat had driven up demand for winter remediesin 2009 (OTC bulletin, 16 April 2010, page 18).Lower spending power due to the financial cri-sis had also curbed the amount that people spenton healthcare, AFIPA added.

As Figure 2 shows, 2010’s list of the top 10companies in France, ranked by total self-med-ication sales, was largely unchanged comparedwith that of 2009. Sanofi-Aventis retained thetop position with more than a tenth of the coun-try’s OTC sales, whilst GlaxoSmithKline’s fallfrom seventh to tenth place constituted the onlydifference in the rankings.

Although the overall turnover of the top nineproduct categories in the strict OTC market in-creased in 2010 (see Figure 3), the market lostC11.4 million as the declines suffered by lesssignificant categories more than offset the gainsmade by the larger categories.

Nevertheless, Cotard maintained there wereencouraging signs for France’s OTC market.

Prices were relatively stable, with the aver-age for the strict OTC market rising by just 0.4%

18 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC MARKETS

Value sales Change Volume sales Change(CC billions) (%) (millions) (%)

Self-medication sales of 1.6 -0.7 281.9 -1.1non-reimbursable,non-prescription medicines

Self-medication sales of 0.3 -1.3 137.9 -1.3reimbursable, non-prescriptionmedicines

Total self-medication sales 1.9 -0.8 419.9 -1.2of non-prescription medicines

Prescription-generated sales 3.4 – – –of non-prescription medicines

Total non-prescription 5.3 -3.9 – –medicines market

Figure 1: Breakdown of France’s non-prescription medicines market in 2010. Value sales are at retail sellingprices (Source – IMS Consumer Health/AFIPA)

Company Rank Proportion2010 2009 of sales (%)

Sanofi Aventis 1 1 11

UPSA 2 2 7

McNeil Sante 3 3 7

Boiron 4 4 6

Pierre Fabre 5 5 6

Bayer 6 6 5

Reckitt Benckiser 7 8 4

Cooper 8 9 4

Merck KGaA 9 10 3

GlaxoSmithKline 10 7 3

Others (230) – – 44

Figure 2: Top 10 companies ranked by self-medicationsales of non-reimbursable and reimbursable,non-prescription medicines by value at retailselling prices in France in 2010(Source – IMS Consumer Health/AFIPA)

Product category Value change Value change Proportion(CCmillions) (%) of total (%)

Respiratory Tract -10.8 -2.3 29.0

Gastrointestinal +2.7 +1.3 13.5

Analgesics +11.0 +5.8 12.7

Skin treatments +9.6 +6.8 9.5

Circulatory products -0.6 -0.5 7.7

Nicotine-replacement therapies +2.4 +3.2 4.8

Mood enhancers -0.8 -1.0 4.8

Vitamins, minerals and supplements -1.21 -1.6 4.7

Oral-care products -1.59 -4.4 2.2

Top nine +10.7 – 88.9

Others (25) -22.1 -11.2 11.1

Self-medication sales -11.4 -0.7 100.0

Figure 3: Breakdown of France’s ‘strict’ OTC market – self-medication sales of non-reimbursable,non-prescription medicines – in 2010. Value sales are at retail selling prices(Source – IMS Consumer Health/AFIPA)

French market faltersdespite ‘free-access’France’s ‘free-access’ initiative failed to prevent the country’sself-medication market from declining in 2010, whilst pricing anddistribution rules continued to be fiercely debated. David Wallace reports.

OTC31-03-11p18-19FIN.qxd 30/3/11 13:06 Page 2

to C5.63. The average for semi-ethical prod-ucts was unchanged at C2.50 (see Figure 4).

AFIPA also noted that 2010 had been “astrong year for switches”. As Figure 5 shows,notable switches of medicines from prescrip-tion to non-prescription status included Glaxo-SmithKline’s anti-acne treatment Brevoxyl inJanuary, Novartis’ Pantoloc Control in May, andGalderma’s Curanail and Curaspot in Februaryand June respectively. Recent switches also in-cluded Bayer’s Mopralpro (OTC bulletin, 30June 2010, page 15) and Pfizer’s Débricalm(OTC bulletin, 15 October 2010, page 17).

Furthermore, a survey of French consumerscarried out by UPMC – with AFIPA’s support– provided some good news. Conducted in Jan-uary and February of this year, the survey in-volved 468 consumers, who appeared to havewarmed to free-access since a year ago.

The proportion of people who claimed nev-er to have bought a free-access medicine de-clined from 59% in 2010 to 40% in 2011. Morethan half of those surveyed had bought free-access products more than once, and the per-centage of consumers who had bought free-access products more than five times had trebledto a third of all those surveyed (see Figure 6).

This “rapid acceptance” of free-access “givesus hope for the future”, Cotard said.

However, the findings of the survey also sug-gested that more could be done to inform con-sumers about free-access. As Figure 7 shows,a smaller proportion than in the previous yearof those who respondedfelt well-informed aboutfree-access, with nine outof ten people surveyedsaying they felt poorlyinformed about the ini-tiative. AFIPA said thatit would continue to tryto inform French con-sumers about the issuessurrounding free-accessvia the country’s health-care professionals.

Nevertheless, six out of ten respondents saidthey appreciated the opportunity to choose theirown medicines, whilst almost the same propor-tion – 54% – said that being able to select fromfree-access displays saved time. However, con-sultation with a pharmacist was still seen as im-portant by almost 90% of those surveyed, withseven out of ten agreeing that the pharmacist’srole was now just as important as – or even moreimportant than – before.

Pricing and distribution also remained highon the agenda in 2010. In September, Frenchhealth insurer Mutualité Française describedthe state of free-access pricing as a “jungle” andclaimed the prices of self-selection medicinesseemed to be getting completely out of control(OTC bulletin, 29 September 2010, page 10).

Meanwhile, the French supermarket giantLeclerc recently reprised its publicity campaignopposing the country’s pharmacy monopoly onthe sale of non-prescription medicines (OTCbulletin, 21 January 2011, page 15). However,this soon provoked a backlash from pharmacygroups including Univers Pharmacie and Glo-bal Pharmacie, which launched a rival campaignand a website parodying that of Leclerc (OTCbulletin, 28 February 2011, page 10).

Findings of pricing surveyIn support of its campaign, Leclerc commis-

sioned a pricing survey of pharmacies acrossFrance. It found that the prices of certain free-access medicines could vary by as much as threetimes from one pharmacy to another. But UniversPharmacie said Leclerc’s survey merely provedthat there was already effective price competi-tion between pharmacies, adding that its ownsurvey indicated that Leclerc’s parapharmacieswere more expensive than pharmacies.

■ Continued on page 22

1931 March 2011 OTC bulletin

MARKETS OTC

Figure 6: Response of French consumers when they were asked: “How many times have you bought ‘free access’medicines?” (Source – AFIPA/UPMC)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4

Series1Series2

59%

40%

10%5%

20% 22%

11%

33%2010

2011

Never Once 2-5 times More than five times

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Pro

port

ion

ofco

nsum

ers

(%)

Figure 7: Response of French consumers when they were asked how well informed they felt about ‘free access’medicines (Source – AFIPA/UPMC)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4

Series1Series2

29%33%

54% 55%

16%

9%

1% 2%

2010

2011

Not at all Not well Quite well Very wellinformed informed informed informed

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Pro

port

ion

ofco

nsum

ers

(%)

Average retail prices of medicines Changein 2010 (CC per pack) (%)

Non-reimbursable, non-prescription medicines 5.63 +0.4

Reimbursable, non-prescription medicines 2.50 ±0.0

Total self-medication market 4.60 +0.4

Figure 4: Average retail prices in French self-medication market in 2010 (Source – IMS Consumer Health/AFIPA)

Medicine Month of Salesswitch (CCmillions)

Brevoxyl 4% cream, 40g January 0.29

Curanail 5% nail polish, 2.5ml February 2.16

Pantoloc Control 20mg tablets May 1.25

Curaspot 5% cream, 100g June 0.17

Mopralpro 20mg tablets June 1.85

Debricalm GE 100mg tablets September 0.12

Figure 5: Significant switches of medicines from prescription to non-prescriptionstatus in France during 2010, together with sales at retail selling prices(Source – IMS Consumer Health/AFIPA)

OTC31-03-11p18-19FIN.qxd 30/3/11 13:06 Page 3

If Germany’s non-prescription medicinesindustry has been disappointed by the mar-ket’s stagnation in recent years, it appearsthat local companies expect little respite

through future price increases.When management consultancy Sempora

Consulting asked representatives of 42 GermanOTC, prescription drugs and diagnostics manu-facturers about their expectations for prices ofOTC products in community pharmacies, aroundthree-fifths said prices would fall.

Just 12% thought OTC prices would rise,while another 29% foresaw pricing stability inthe non-prescription market (see Figure 1).

By contrast, nearly one in three of the 136community pharmacists Sempora interviewedin January of this year thought they would becharging more for OTC products in future. Twoout of five pharmacists believed prices wouldstabilise, while 29% expected prices to decline(see Figure 2).

Manufacturers were slightly more optimisticabout trends in the mail-order pharmacy sector,with 47% expecting lower OTC prices and 41%forecasting pricing stability. Pharmacists believ-ed the mail-order pricing trend would largelymirror that of the community pharmacy sector.

Toby Brodtkorb, managing partner at Sem-pora, observed that manufacturers had becomemore pessimistic on OTC pricing since the con-sultancy had conducted a similar survey lastyear (OTC bulletin, 11 June 2010, page 20).At that time, 39% of the 48 industry executiveshad predicted a fall in OTC prices in commu-nity pharmacies, while a third of them thought

mail-order OTC prices would decline.When questioned about their own pricing

policies in recent years, nearly half – 46% – ofthe 136 community pharmacists said they hadreduced prices for non-prescription products ona permanent basis. And almost three out of fivesaid they regularly ran special deals within theirOTC offering.

Brodtkorb pointed out that the proportion ofpharmacists who ran special offers had tumbledby 21 percentage points from the 80% who haddone so last year. By contrast, the proportionthat had cut prices on a permanent basis hadrisen by 12 percentage points.

Of those community pharmacists who werepart of a co-operative or grouping, only half saidthey received any support on their OTC pricingstrategies. The same proportion said they ben-efited from better purchasing conditions.

However, almost four-fifths could draw onthe group to help their marketing activities, andseven out of 10 received support on categorymanagement, display optimisation and own-label product ranges.

Revealing their plans for the future, 17% ofpharmacists said they planned to adapt or re-duce their OTC prices. This was a lower propor-tion than the one in four who said they woulddo the same last year.

Sempora’s research suggests there is stilllimited pricing sensitivity on medicines amongthe German public. Of the 308 consumers ques-tioned, only a third said they were increasinglyasking about offers for non-prescription medi-cines, while just 15% checked prices online,and a mere 2% tried to negotiate with their phar-macist to obtain a lower price.

Indeed, when the participating consumerswere asked to estimate the retail prices of com-monly-used OTC medicines, they on averagegave double the recommended retail prices.

Fewer than one out of five German con-sumers believed the price of a medicine reflect-ed its quality, while just 29% said they onlytrusted branded medicines. Consumers’ loyaltyto brands had eroded sharply since last year’ssurvey, Sempora observed.

Perhaps with the erosion of brand confidencein mind, almost three-fifths, 59%, of the indus-try executives believed “the importance of own-label products” was set to rise. Just over a thirdthought own-labels would retain their current

importance, and just 6% thought their rele-vance would decline (see Figure 3).

Community pharmacists were slightly lesssure, although half of them predicted an in-creasing role for own-label healthcare ranges.

Looking on a longer-term basis, seven outof 10 industry executives thought it probablethat pharmacy groups would stock just the twoleading brands and an own-label alternative ineach category. Four-fifths of the industry exec-utives thought it likely, or very likely, that thenumber of brands in each category would fall.

However, when they were asked to completethe statement “The range of non-prescriptionmedicines available will.....”, just 29% said“fall”. Around 24% chose “rise”, and the re-maining 47% predicted no significant change(see Figure 4).

Could be a risky strategyFor OTC firms looking to diversify their in-

come base beyond their core brands, manufac-turing own-label products for retailers could bea risky strategy. Two-thirds of the communitypharmacists interviewed said they would notrecommend products from firms that producedown-label products for franchise groups.

More than two-thirds of pharmacists – 69%– said the same of companies that co-operatedwith mail-order pharmacies.

However, two-thirds of the industry execu-tives said their companies already advertised inthe catalogues or on the websites of mail-orderpharmacies, and just 23% said they had no formof tie-up with a mail-order retailer.

Meanwhile, 74% of the pharmacists insistedthat they would not recommend products fromfirms that worked closely with franchise phar-macies. Nevertheless, 88% of them thought itwas probable, or very probable, that pharmacyco-operatives would keep growing, and 28%

20 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC MARKET RESEARCH

German firms foresee a price fallManufacturers in Germany are steeling themselves for an expected declinein OTC prices and a rise in the importance of retailers’ own-label products,according to a survey from Sempora Consulting. Aidan Fry reports.

Figure 3: Proportion of a panel of 42 executives frompharmaceutical manufacturers in Germany who thinkthe importance of own-label healthcare products willrise, stay the same or fall (Source – Sempora)

Fall6%

Rise59%

Stay the same35%

Figure 4: Proportion of a panel of 42 executivesfrom pharmaceutical manufacturers in Germanywho think the range of non-prescription medicinesavailable in the country will rise, stay the same or fall(Source – Sempora)

Fall29%

Rise24%

Stay the same47%

OTC31-03-11p20-21FIN.qxd 30/3/11 13:08 Page 2

of pharmacists said they planned to join someform of pharmacy group.

The industry executives agreed. Aroundthree-quarters of them felt pharmacy co-oper-atives and franchises would rise in importance.

When Sempora prompted consumers witha list of pharmacy groups or brands, the onlyones recognised by more than a tenth of Ger-mans were Celesio’s DocMorris with 70% andthe Linda concept run by the marketing asso-ciation of German pharmacists, the MVDA,with 38%.

The industry representatives perceived Doc-Morris as the most effective group in terms ofcategory management, while Linda led on ad-vice. The two came joint top for brand presen-tation, while the EasyApotheke franchise wasseen to be the most aggressive group on pricing.

Similarly, two-thirds of customers – onceprompted – could identify DocMorris as a mail-order pharmacy, although Sempora noted thisrepresented a slide of three percentage pointssince last year’s survey.

On an unprompted basis, DocMorris’ re-cognition rate of 34% was four-times the 8%of consumers that could name its closest chal-lenger, Sanicare.

Nearly one quarter of the 308 consumersquestioned said they had bought a product froma mail-order pharmacy.

More than three-quarters of the communitypharmacists that participated in the survey ex-pected pharmaceutical companies to work moreclosely with mail-order retailers, and 57% saidmail-order pharmacies would open their ownfranchise stores, as DocMorris has done.

The vast majority of pharmacists believedthere would be further consolidation in themail-order arena, as other retailers such as drug-stores and supermarkets looked to grab a sliceof the action. Indeed, one in five pharmacistssaid they were looking into options to sell theirstore, and 12% were adamant that they intend-ed to divest their business.

Both industry and community pharmacistsforesaw a decline in the number of communitypharmacies in Germany, from around 21,550at present to approximately 18,000 in 2016.

When Sempora asked industry executivesabout how they foresaw the future importanceof mail-order pharmacies, 88% thought it wouldrise and none believed it would decline.

Pointing out that mail-order pharmacies ac-counted for 9% to 10% of Germany’s non-pre-scription medicines market last year, Semporaasked: “How high will that share be in 2013?”

Most of the industry executives – 55% –thought 10% to 12%, while two out of five saidit would be between 12% and 15%. Another5% thought the share would be above 15%.

One in five community pharmacists thought

mail-order pharmacies’ share would at beststagnate, but 7% thought it would exceed 15%.In each case, shares of between 10%-12% or12%-15% were favoured by just over a thirdof pharmacists.

While industry executives saw mail-orderpharmacies becoming slightly more importantat the cost of community outlets, they perceiv-ed a more significant shift within the next threeyears towards having to serve pharmacies inco-operatives and franchise programmes. Fur-thermore, the executives expected, drugstoresand supermarkets would play a more promi-nent role in Germany’s OTC market.

Only 6% of executives did not think it like-ly that pharmacy-exclusive products would in-creasingly be sold through supermarkets anddrugstores.

However, any move to diversify the distri-bution base for products that had previouslybeen exclusively sold through pharmacies –whether by choice or due to the product’s legalstatus – would seem to be a high-risk strategy.

Ready to boycott productsSempora’s research found that many com-

munity pharmacists in Germany were ready toreplicate the infamous example of the boycottof Lichtwer’s whole portfolio after the herbalsspecialist decided in 1998 to sell its Kwai gar-lic medicine through general-sale outlets. With-in a year, Lichtwer was forced to backtrack withits reputation and balance sheet in tatters (OTCbulletin, 14 October 1999, page 1).

Asked how they would react if a manufac-turer supplied a formerly pharmacy-exclusiveproduct to drugstores and supermarkets, a thirdof pharmacists said they would stop stockingthe product.

As in the previous year’s survey, just overhalf of pharmacists said they would react tosuch a general-sale move by boycotting themanufacturer in question’s entire portfolio.

Sempora noted that just 6% of pharmacistsappeared to have no problem with such a gen-

eral-sale move, as they would keep recommend-ing the product in question. In the 2010 survey,one out of six, or 17%, had been prepared toadvise customers to use such a brand.

Nevertheless, four out of five consumerswere able to imagine picking up medicinesfrom a drugstore such as dm-drogeriemarkt orSchlecker, while 93% of Germans could con-ceive of a model whereby local partners deliver-ed medicines ordered online or by telephone.

“Despite the legal discussion on the pick-upconcept, 71% of industry executives questionedthink further co-operation between mail-orderand bricks-and-mortar retailers is probable orvery probable,” Sempora observed.

Furthermore, the vast majority of the in-dustry executives believed other mail-order re-tailers and players from other countries wouldpush into Germany’s medicines market.

The degree of external influence on Ger-many’s medicines market will depend in largepart on whether Germany relaxes its rules onpharmacy ownership.

Even though the European Court of Justicetwo years ago upheld the country’s right to limitownership to community pharmacists, exactlyhalf of the industry executives surveyed – and46% of the community pharmacists – believedthat “the ban on third-party pharmacy owner-ship will fall within the next five years”.

In the meantime, the growing influence ofpharmacy co-operatives and mail-order retail-ers is already having a telling effect.

Four-fifths of industry executives said thechanging market conditions were forcing themto reassess how they segmented the pharmacymarket. And just over half said they had alreadycut the size of their salesforce and turned moreto a key-account management model.

■ Contact Tobias Brodtkorb, Managing Partner, Sem-

pora Consulting, Siemensstrasse 27, 61352 Bad Hom-

burg, Germany (Tel: +49 6172 45349 30; Fax: +49 6172

45349 49; E-mail: t.brodtkorb @sempora.com).

2131 March 2011 OTC bulletin

MARKET RESEARCH OTC

Figure 1: Proportion of a panel of 42 executives frompharmaceutical manufacturers in Germany who thinkprices for OTC products in community pharmacies willrise, stay the same or fall (Source – Sempora)

Fall59%

Stay the same29%

Rise12%

Figure 2: Proportion of a panel of 136 communitypharmacists in Germany who think prices for OTCproducts in community pharmacies will rise, stay thesame or fall (Source – Sempora)

Stay the same40%

Fall29%

Rise31%

OTC

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Celesio has recruited Stephan Borchert fromperfume retailer Douglas to head up its in-

ternational pharmacy business.Borchert replaces Stefan Meister, who left

Celesio in August 2009 after more than 10 yearsas a member of the management board (OTCbulletin, 31 August 2009, page 31).

The pan-European retailer and wholesalersaid that 41 year-old Borchert, who was pre-viously managing director and general manag-er international at Douglas, would become themanagement board member with responsibil-ity for its Patient and Consumer Solutions divi-sion by 1 September 2011 at the latest. The divi-sion is responsible for over 2,300 pharmacies,including the Lloydspharmacy chain in the UKand Apotheke DocMorris.

Celesio’s chief executive officer Fritz Oest-erle described Borchert as an “exceptionallyexperienced expert” in international retailing.“This underlines our aim of significantly ex-panding the business over the coming yearswith non-price-regulated health, beauty andwellness products,” said Oesterle.

As managing director and general managerinternational of Douglas, Borchert was respon-sible for 750 perfume shops in 20 countries.Before that, he worked for the fashion groupEsprit, where he managed its Asian cosmeticsbusiness Red Earth in Hong Kong. He had pre-viously spent seven years at Roland Berger,

where he rose to the position of partner withresponsibility for the retail, fashion and life-style divisions.

At the end of last year, Celesio set up theDocMorris International Retail unit to manageits pharmacy business outside of the UK andthe DocMorris franchise operation in Germany.The company said the unit would be respon-sible for rebranding all of Celesio’s existingpharmacies in Belgium, the Czech Republic,Ireland, Italy, Norway and Sweden as DocMor-ris stores, as well as developing an internation-al DocMorris franchise business (OTC bullet-in, 30 November 2010, page 6).

In a separate development, Lloydspharmacyhas appointed Jeff Wemyss – former tradingdirector at the drugstore chain Superdrug – asits head of retail.

Lloydspharmacy said Wemyss, who wouldlead a 26-strong retail team, would focus on“developing and enhancing the proposition de-livered to customers in the pharmacy chain’s1,600-plus UK stores”.

Wemyss said that although Lloydspharmacywas a healthcare company there was “a lot ofscope to build on developing the OTC healthand beauty product ranges”.

Lloydspharmacy recently named Tony Pageas managing director (OTC bulletin, 11 Febru-ary 2011, page 27).

22 OTC bulletin 31 March 2011

OTC PEOPLE

■ Continued from page 19

When consumers surveyed by UPMC wereasked about pricing, less than a quarter saidthey compared prices between pharmacies whenbuying free-access medicines, despite prices hav-ing to be clearly indicated under the initiative.And just 24% said they would be in favour ofmedicines being sold in supermarkets, althoughthis was a percentage-point higher than in 2009.

AFIPA also noted that 85% of those survey-ed said they wanted a clear separation betweenmedicines and non-medicines sold in pharm-acies, including food supplements and prod-ucts eligible to be sold in parapharmacies suchas those operated by Leclerc.

Interestingly, consumers had become evenmore sceptical of buying medicines over theinternet. More than a tenth said they were con-cerned by online sales, compared with just 4%in 2010, and only 1% said they would be com-pletely confident buying medicines online.

French market faltersdespite ‘free-access’

OTC

China Nepstar has named Jason XinghuaWu as chief executive officer and Fuxi-

ang Zhang as chief operating officer with im-mediate effect.

The drugstore chain had promoted Wu tothe position of acting chief executive officerin June of last year, following the resignationof Ian Wade (OTC bulletin, 11 June 2010,page 23).

After joining China Nepstar in July 2008,Wu served as vice general manager of the com-pany’s Guangzhou branch and regional gen-eral manager of its North China region. Hewas promoted to vice-president of operationsin March 2009 due to his “outstanding per-formance”, and was made chief operating of-ficer three months later.

Zhang, who replaces Wu as chief operatingofficer, has spent more than 14 years with thecompany. He has held various senior manage-ment positions, including general manager ofthe Shenzhen Nepstar Group as well as Nep-star Dalian. He was most recently the com-pany’s vice-president.

Retailers

China Nepstarfills top posts

OTC

Retailers & Wholesalers

Celesio recruits Borchertfrom Douglas retail chain

StephanBorchert

Jeff Wemyss

OTC

■ CATALENT PHARMA SOLUTIONS hasnamed Tim McFadden as vice-president andgeneral manager of its Consumer Health Soft-gel business. He replaces Jorge Castro, who isretiring from the US-based drug-delivery spe-

cialist at the end of March. McFadden was pre-viously executive vice-president of sales andmarketing at Cardinal Health’s pharmaceuti-cal distribution business.

IN BRIEF

OTC

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Boehringer Ingelheim’s Dr Martin Weiseris set to replace Dr Mark Seidscheck as

chief executive of the German medicines man-ufacturers’ association, the BAH, on 1 July.

Weiser is the second person to be lined upby the BAH to replace Seidscheck.

The first – Professor Gudrun Neises – leftthe BAH just a few months after joining theindustry association as its next chief executive(OTC bulletin, 21 January 2011, page 25). TheBAH said Neises had left because of “differ-ing views on the strategic and organisationaldirection of the association”.

An expert in metabolic diseases, Neises hadjoined the BAH on 1 September last year. Sheheld the Stada Foundation’s professorship forhealthcare management at Europa Universityof Applied Sciences Fresenius in Idstein, Ger-many. She oversaw courses including a Bach-elor of Arts in healthcare business and a Mas-ter of Science in international health economics

and pharmacoeconomics.A 44 year-old pharmacist, Weiser moves to

the BAH from Boehringer Ingelheim, wherehe was head of market access and healthcareaffairs. He has been a member of committeesat the BAH and the originator pharmaceuticalindustry association, the VFA.

2331 March 2011 OTC bulletin

PEOPLE OTC

Paul Sturman – global president and gen-eral manager of Pfizer Consumer Health-

care – has been elected chair of the board ofthe US Consumer Healthcare Products Asso-ciation (CHPA).

Sturman takes over from Christopher De-Wolf, president and chief executive officer ofLil’ Drug Store Products.

Scott Melville, president and chief execu-tive officer of the CHPA, described Sturmanas a “thoughtful and experienced industry lead-er” with a “keen strategic vision”.

“As our nation seeks cost-effective health-care options, the CHPA is committed to dem-onstrating the role, value and accessibility thatOTC medicines and dietary supplements pro-vide in our healthcare delivery system,” com-mented Melville.

Seven new members were elected to the in-dustry association’s board, including Christo-pher Combe of Combe, and Colin Macken-zie of GlaxoSmithKline.

Dr Martin Weiser

Industry Associations

Germany’s BAH names newreplacement for Seidscheck

Industry Associations

US CHPA electsSturman as chair

OTC OTC

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