Q&A with Spotlight Boots races GSK’s on away with CharlottePerry Zurego the title page 17 page 6 page 20

Contents Stada holds out 24 March 2017 Issue Number 479 COMPANY NEWS forhigher bids Valeant sells units 2 tada Arzneimittel has postponed the at between C570 million and C590 million, than in three markets S“structuredbiddingprocess” forpoten- the previously-announced figure of C510 million. Mylan is targeting 3 tial acquirers to give rivalbidders the op- The increase in the growth targetsfor 2019, atop-10 position portunitytoimprove their takeoveroffers. Stada noted, reflected theinterimresults from Adcockrestructurepaysoff 4 “The executive and supervisory boards mu- its‘StadaPlus’ programme introduced last year Ascendis settoacquiretwo firms 5 tually agree that the indicative bids do not yet to improve performance. “Aspart of this pro- reflectthe fundamental value of Stada,”com- gramme,” the firmexplained, “Stada in thecom- GENERAL NEWS mented the Germanfirm.“Thus, the company, ingyears will implement arange of measures for the time being, wants to provide the bidders whichare aimedattapping into potentials in ex- Industrystifling innovation 7 with the opportunity to increase their offers.” isting and newmarkets,onthe reduction of com- Dutchsales improve 8 On 25 February,Stada launched a“trans- plexity both in the portfolio as well as in the by 3.9% to e719mn parent and fair” bidding process for the firm organisation, and on improving the cost basis.” ASA wantstoengage industry9 to give all interested parties alevel playing field Matthias Wiedenfels, chairman of Stada’s Colds boost German market10 to “present their plans for Stada” (OTC bul- executive board, insisted that the company’s letin,3March 2017, page 1). The company growthstrategyhad “gained significant momen- NZ considers future11 made the move after oneinterested party,pri- tum” in the past six months. “Thanks to this of codeine products vate-equity firm Advent International, sub- positive momentum, we are able to leverage MARKETING NEWS mittedalegally-binding takeover offer valuing even more ambitiouspotential. Within our Stada the firmataround C3.6 billion. Plus programme, we have identified additional Corsodyl movespast science 15 Stada has also raised itsmedium-term growth significant growth potential andstarted concrete Merck’s Femibion 16 targets for 2019.The firmnow expects thatsales initiativeswith significantly positive impact on set forexpansion will reachbetween C2.65 billion and C2.70 bil- sales and profitability.” Diomed to bolster Iglü 17 lion in 2019, up from the previously-reported “With our newEBITDA-margin target we estimate of C2.60 billion. Adjusted earnings will significantly improve our competitive po- Infirst points to 18 before interest, tax,depreciation andamortisa- sition,”heinsisted. “Wewill make Stada more newcough path tion (EBITDA) are also expected to be higher efficient, stronger and more viable.” OTC REGULARS Spotlight on –Zurego 6 OTCMarketing AwardWinners Q&A –with GSK’s17 CharlottePerry The supplement bound into the centre of this Events –Our regular listing 19 issue listsall the winners,runners-up and highly- commendedentries for OTC bulletin’s UK OTC People –WBA promotes 23 to fillmarketing posts MarketingAwards 2017. Thepresentation photo- graphs are on pages12, 13 and14. OTC Connect with us on: Twitter LinkedIn OTC-bulletin.com OTC COMPANY NEWS

Annual Results Business Strategy/Annual Results Merck posts Valeant sells units modest rise in three markets strong performance in Asiahelped lift Asales at Merck KGaA’s Consumer Health aleanthas agreed to divest businesses in business by 3.4% operationally in 2016. VBrazil, Indonesia and Vietnam as part of its However, negative currency effectshad com- mission to reduce the group’sdebt burden. The pletely wiped out theoperational gain, the Ger- operations thatwill be sold are InstitutoTera- man companypointed out,leavingthe Consumer peuticoDelta in Brazil, Armoxindo in Indo- Health division’ssales as reported down by 5.0% nesia and Euvipharm in Vietnam. No financial at C860 million. details have been disclosed. The Neurobion vitamin Bbrand had driven “Weare in the process of divesting certain up sales in Asia in the 12 months, Merck noted, businessesinseveralnon-core geographies, in- along with asolid showing from the Sangobion cluding Brazil,Indonesia and Vietnam,” chair- anaemiasupplement. In terms of markets, In- man and chief executive officer Joseph Papa told donesia,Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore investors as he unveiled a7%drop in group turn- and Thailand had all recorded double-digit overin2016 to US$9.67 billion (C8.96 billion). Joseph Papa growth in 2016, the companypointed out. When it acquired Brazil’sDelta for BRL97 million (C29 million) in 2010, Valeant noted The firm’s20,000 sq mfacility has an annual Additions to portfolio that theprivately-owned firm hadgenerated a capacity of 8billion tablets. During the period, Merck expanded its Con- 2009turnoverofBRL49million, largelyfrom Commentingondivesting the businesses in sumer Health portfolioinAsiawith three dietary branded generics and OTCproducts (OTC Indonesiaand Vietnam –whichtogethergener- supplements transferred from its Biopharma busi- bulletin,30April 2010, page 3). Then chair- ated sales of US$7 millionlast year –Papa said ness (OTC bulletin,27May 2016, page 11). manand chief executive Michael Pearson said theywerenot “corefor us”. “By reducing com- The Evionvitamin Eproduct, Livogen iron incorporating Delta’sproduction facility in In- plexity, we simplify the business model and get and folic-acid supplement and thePolybionvita- daiatuba,Brazil,would allowthe group to “ach- thefocus on where we can really growthe busi- minDbrand were all marketed in India, Merck ieve significant growth and synergies” in con- ness for the future,”heexplained, identifying explained, andgenerated combinedannual sales junctionwith Valeant’sotheractivitiesinBrazil. the group’sBausch +Lomb eye-care, gastro- of around C45 million. Adeal for privately-owned Armoxindo in intestinal and dermatology franchises as core All three brands had enjoyed a“smooth August 2014 brought Valeant “more than 100 assets, with North America forming “a very transition” into theConsumerHeath portfolio, different prescription and OTCproducts”, in- important core” in geographic terms. the companynoted. cludingcoughand cold remedies, anti-inflam- Papa pointed outthatthe proceeds fromthe Outside Asia, Merck said Consumer Health matory drugs, asthma treatments and antacids, divestments in Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam had recorded “lowsingle-digit growth” in the as well as alocal production plant. “Weare would come on top of the US$2.19 billion that Americas and Southern Europe (ASE) and the focusing on the branded generics segment in the firm wasset to raisefromselling skincare Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and South-East Asia,”commented regional president brands to L’Oréal (OTC bulletin,3February Africa (CEEMEA) reporting regions. Andrew Howden at the time,adding thatArmox- 2017, page 3) and its Dendreon Pharmaceu- indo would provide aplatform from which to ticals business to Sanpower.This would help Femibion in demand market other Valeant products in Indonesia. the group achieve its goal announced in Au- Strong demand for the Femibion women’s Valeant in 2013 paid alittle overUS$20 mil- gust last year of paying offUS$5 billion of health supplement in Germanyand Iran had lion foracontrolling 65%stake in Vietnamese its US$30 billion debt burden fromsalespro- helped to drive up sales in CEEMEA,the firm branded generics and OTCplayer Euvipharm. ceeds and freecashflow by early 2018. OTC said. SouthAfricahad been Consumer Health’s best-performing market in the region, Merck added, just ahead of Saudi Arabia and the UK. IN BRIEF Meanwhile, in ASE, Consumer Health had enjoyed solid growth in Brazil, Chile and Col- SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS – evolution and vision to be amore holistic ombia, Merck pointed out, with Neurobion per- the Australian wholesaler and retailer –isto healthcare company. Sigma is in afantastic posi- forming well across all three markets. change its name to Sigma Healthcare.The tion in the healthcare space to connect products, The companyexpanded its OTCportfolio companysaidthe name change –which is sub- services and data to provide greater benefits in ASE during 2016 by transferring from Bio- ject to shareholder approvalatthe firm’sannual forour customers, ourpartnersand ultimately pharma the Anemidox/Confer andHepabionta generalmeetingon3May –would“better re- growth for our members and Sigma,’’ said brands, which are marketed across Latin America flectits broader healthcarefocus”. MarkHooper, Hooper.“Along with the name change, we will (OTC bulletin,5February 2016, page 15). Sigma’schief executive officerand managing be going to market with anew logo and tag- Consumer Health accounted for 5.7% of director,saidthe move wasmore than just a line –Connecting Health Solutions –that we Merck’stotal sales in 2016, which advanced by “symbolic”change.“It is an important and ex- believe better capturesSigma’s roleinthe health- 17.0% to C15.0 billion. OTC citing change that better represents Sigma’s care industry,’’ he added. OTC

2 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 COMPANY NEWS OTC

Mergers &Acquisitions Business Strategy Sanofi swap Mylan is targeting completed atop-10 position anofi’s acquisition of Boehringer Ingelheim’s SConsumer Health Care business has now ylan is committed to becoming atop-10 closed in all relevant markets after the trans- Mplayer in the globalOTC market within action was finalised in India. Thedeal hadbeen fiveyears, according to the company’s president delayed pending certain regulatory approvals. Rajiv Malik. The French firm said it had become a“leader” Speaking at arecent investor day,Malik in the IndianOTC market afterexchangingits revealed the genericsgiant’sobjective for itsbur- Merial animal health business in the country for geoning OTCbusiness wastoreach US$2.0 bil- Boehringer’sConsumer Health Care operation. lion (C1.9 billion) in annual sales by 2021. Mylan had generated sales of around US$1 billion in Major landmarkachieved 2016, he pointed out,makingthe firm atop-20 “With the successful closure of theswapdeal player globally. in India, both companies have achievedamajor To takethe business to the next level, Mylan landmark,”commented Shailesh Ayyangar,man- would invest behind its “legacy”OTC brands, Rajiv Malik aging director of Sanofi’sIndia business. pursue prescription-to-OTC switch opportuni- “The swap of the Consumer Health Care busi- ties andexpand its footprintintonew markets, some dollars to add more brands to this portfolio.” ness of Boehringer and Sanofi’sanimal health Malik explained. Malik pointed to the firm’srecentacquisi- business will facilitate both companiestopur- In addition, he noted, the companywould tion of Cold-EEZE as agood example of the suetheir respective strategic aspirations,”Ay- work to growits OTCportfoliothrough bothac- typeofopportunity Mylanwouldpursue.The yangar insisted. “AtSanofi, we areexcited to quisitions and research and development. company snappedupthe Cold-EEZE homoeo- embracethe incoming Boehringer brands,asthis Mylan had a“diversified OTCpipeline”, pathic cold and flu brand from US-based Pro- is in linewith our stated objectiveofboosting Malik claimed, with 40 “unique” products in de- Phase Labs for an undisclosed sum in January. ourpresence in consumer healthcare in India.” velopment, including food supplements, oral At thetime thedealwas announced, Mylan Sanofifinalisedthe acquisition of Boehringer medicines and skin-care lines. “Weplan to in- said Cold-EEZEwould becomeits “largestUS Consumer Health Care on 1January in all mar- vest alot more in research and development OTCbrand” and “further augment its growing kets except India, and claimed at the time that becauseOTC representsanexcitinggrowth op- OTCbusiness”(OTC bulletin,13January 2017, it hadtaken its place as one of theworld’s top- portunity for the company,”heinsisted. page 4). three consumer healthcare companies (OTC Turning to acquisitions, Malik said Mylan Mylan expanded significantly itsOTC busi- bulletin,13January 2017, page 1). intended to “keep on adding” products to its ness lastyear by acquiring Sweden’sMedaand The enlarged Consumer Healthcarebusiness, OTCportfolio; “a brand here and brand there”, itsrange of“well-established and differentiated Sanofi claimed, would be the world-leader in depending on the opportunities that presented brands”, includingthe Betadine antiseptic, CB12 OTCdigestive health and feminine-care prod- themselves. “You will seeusdoing morebusi- oral-care range and the Endwarts wart remover ucts, plus number twoinpain care. OTC ness development,”hepromised,“and spending (OTC bulletin,12August 2016, page 13). OTC

Editor: Matt Stewart Production Editor: Jenna Meredith Advertising Controller: Debi Minal Contributing Editor: David Wallace Director of Subscriptions: Val Davis Assistant Editor: Tom Gallen Editor-in-Chief: Aidan Fry Group Sales Manager: Rob Coulson Assistant Editor: Marie McEvoy Managing Director: MikeRice Awards Manager: Natalie Cornwell

24 March 2017 |Number 479 Editorial enquiries: OTC bulletin, Te rms &Conditions: While due carehas been taken to ensurethe accuracy of 4Poplar Road, Dorridge,Solihull, These can be viewedinfull at www.OTC-bulletin.com. information contained in this publication, the publisher West Midlands B93 8DB, UK. No partofthis publication maybecopied, reproduced, makes no claim that it is free of errorand disclaims any Website: www.OTC-bulletin.com storedinaretrieval system, distributed or transmittedby liability whatsoeverfor anydecisions or actions taken as aresult of its contents. Te l: +44(0)1564777550 anymeans, includingelectronic,mechanical, photocopying Fax: +44(0)1564 777524 or recording, without the prior written permission of ©OTC Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. the publisher,orunder the terms and conditions of Email: [email protected] ® aGlobal Site Licence or of alicence issued by the OTC bulletin is registered as atrademark in the European Community. Advertising enquiries: Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) in London, UK, or Contact: [email protected] rights bodiesinother countriesthat have reciprocal ISSN 1350-1097. Subscription enquiries: agreements with the CLA. Companyregistered in England No 2765878. Subscription rates arepublished at Neither maythis publication be exported, distributed www.OTC-bulletin.com/subscribe. or circulated by anymeans without the prior written Printed by Warwick Printing CompanyLimited, Contact: [email protected] permission of the publisher. Leamington Spa CV31 1QD,UK.

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 3 OTC COMPANY NEWS

First-Half Results Adcock restructurepaysoff

outh Africa’s Adcock Ingram says it is Business First-half sales Change Operating Snow reapingthe benefitsofstrategicdivest- (ZAR millions) (%) margin (%) ments andrestructuringinitiativesthatthe firm Prescription 1,009 +13 11.5 hasbeen implementingsince local conglomer- OTC885 +16 16.5 ateBidvest took control of the firm in 2014. Among the“substantive changes to internal Hospital 662 +6 4.1 structures andprocesses” implemented by Ad- Consumer 335 +2 15.6 cock were “moredefined butdecentralised busi- Southern Africa 2,890 +11 11.8 ness units”, while the companyhas also carried out several divestments. Rest of Africa/R&D India 107 +28 0.3 Almostayearago, Adcockannouncedthat Eliminations -19 –– it had agreed to sell the sales and marketing TotalAdcockIngram 2,979 +11 10.8 armofits Cosme Farma operation in India (OTC Discontinued operations India 67 -41 9.4 bulletin,22 April2016, page8). Adcock said Discontinued operations Ghana 52 -31 17.3 thelocalregulatory business had beenseparated out before the Indian operation wasdivested, Figure1:AdcockIngram’ssales and operating margin in its first half ended 31 December 2016, broken down by region (Source –AdcockIngram) noting that“this remainsanefficient and cost- effective asset to support regulatory activities cleansed Adcock is capable of delivering”. volumes during the winter season”. in South Africa”. Although Adcock’sbusinesses in Zimbabwe Commenting on the group’soverallperform- Adcock alsolastyearsoldamajority53.47% and Kenya“have for sometime underperformed ance, chief executive officer Andy Hall observed stakeinits Ghanaian Ayrton Drug Manufactur- in challenging markets”,the firmacknowledged, that“against atougheconomic background, we ing business to local manufacturer and distribu- the OTCdivision had nowtaken control of the have beenable to increase both turnoverand tor Dannex (OTC bulletin,9September 2016, Kenyan operation “and we accordinglyexpect gross profit by 11%, and trading profit by22%” page 11). that the business will stabilise”. to ZAR342 million. “Having finallydisposedofthe group’sIndi- In Adcock’sfinancial first half ended 31 “Weare set for growth and ready to make an sales andmarketingbusiness and the major- December 2016, group turnoverrose by more acquisitions in line with our strategy,due to ity stakeinthe Ghanaian enterprise,”stated thanatenth to ZAR2.98 billion (C217 million), our strong cash position,”Hall outlined. Adcock,“and having effectivelydealt withall with rises seen across all of the South African Over the next 12 months, Adcock would other inherited underperforming assets”, the re- firm’sindividual businessunits (see Figure1). “maintain focus on expanding the group’sprod- structured business had started to “reveal the OTCsales had advanced by 16% to ZAR885 uctportfolio through partnerships and acquisi- positive impact andfavourable direction that a million, Adcock pointed out, thanks to “increased tions”, Hall promised. OTC

Annual Results Licensing Agreements Genomma Lab looks ahead BioGaia makes exican OTC and personal-care firmGen- well positioned to growinamuch more sustain- Australia move Momma is now well-positioned to grow in a able and profitable manner.” “much more sustainable and profitable man- “Our streamlinedorganisation, ledbyseason- ioGaia’s Protectis probiotics will soon be ner”, according to its chief executive officer ed experts, willdrive thenew business strategy Bavailable in Australia, after thefirm signed Máximo Juda. for theorganisation andallowustocapitalise an “exclusive agreement” with Nestlé. Speaking as the company posted a5.3% rise on expected improveddemandacrossthe mar- Under the terms of the deal, BioGaia has in 2016 sales to MXN11.6 billion (C559 mil- kets we serve,”heclaimed. granted the Swiss food and drinks giant the lion),Judapointed out that against a“challenging exclusiverights to sellProtectis drops–contain- macroeconomic and politicalenvironment” in Turnaround in Mexico ing the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri –inAus- manyofthe firm’s markets,Genomma had em- Having stabilised the Mexican business, tralia from “mid 2017”. The product would be barkedupon an “ambitious turnaround plan”. salesinthe country had improved by 19.7%to co-branded under the BioGaia and Nestlé This had included strengthening the com- MXN4.69 billion, Genomma noted. names, the companynoted. pany’sMexican operations, “rightsizing” the In theUS, increased distributioninbothCVS “I am very happythatwehavesigned this ex- entire organisation and implementing “prudent drugstoresand HEB grocery stores had helped clusive agreement which further confirms the financial policies and procedures”, Juda said, to drive up turnoverby21.6% to MXN1.55 bil- fruitful collaboration we have with Nestlé,” while bringing in “highly-experienced senior lion, the companyadded. commented BioGaia’smanagingdirector Axel executives” to lead keyareas of the business. By contrast, sales in Latin America –exclud- Sjöblad. “The Australian launch of our Protectis “While the process has not been easy for ing Mexico –had dropped back by 7.9% to drops, whichfits perfectly with Nestlé’soffering, anyone,”Juda admitted, “we have substantially MXN5.39 billion, Genomma said, caused pri- is agreat opportunity forustobroadenBioGaia’s achievedall our goals forthe year, andare now marily by weaker sales in Brazil. OTC reach in the Asia-Pacific region.” OTC

4 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 COMPANY NEWS OTC

Mergers &Acquisitions Mergers &Acquisitions Oriola joins Ascendis set to with Kesko innish wholesaler and retailer Oriola-KD acquiretwo firms Fis to join forceswith retailing conglomerate Kesko to establish achain of “health, beauty and scendis Health is set to bolster its consumer wellbeing” stores across its domestic market. Ahealthcare portfolio by enteringinto sep- Noting that both firms would hold a50% arateagreementstoacquire“the core business equity interest in the resulting business, Oriola assets”ofRomanian distributor Sunwave Phar- said the “first-phase objective”was to build a ma,and all intellectual property of Cypriot chain of 100 outlets and an online store. nutraceuticalscompany NHPPharma. Specialising in “comprehensive wellbeing”, Scheduled to close on 30 April, the trans- the business wouldoperate a“completely new actions wouldbetreated as a“single business kind of chain store”, Oriola promised. combination in the hands ofAscendis”,the South

Oriola andKesko wouldtogether makeanin- African companynoted, as Sunwave currently Sunwave’sAltrifer children’ssupplement itial investment of C25 million in the joint venture, served as NHP Pharma’s “largest customer”. Oriola said, with the aim of opening atotal of 15 First, through a C16.4 million cash deal, As- cendis said. “The efficacyofits products has stores by the end of 2017. The first stores are ex- cendis is set to pick up Bucharest-based Sun- been further validated through clinical and post- pected to open their doors in autumn of this year. wave,which operates acomplementary and marketing studies,”the firm added. “In the joint venture, twostrong and respon- alternative medicinesand food supplementprod- Ascendis’ agreement for NHP Pharma com- sible Finnish operators will combine their forces,” ucts distribution business, and furthermore is prisesaC26.1million payment upfront, andup commentedEero Hautaniemi,Oriola’s president the sixth-largest OTCplayer in Romania, accord- to C23.1 million in milestone payments over and chief executive officer.“Keskohas exten- ingtothe South African firm. three years, dependent on the achievement of sive experience in the grocery trade and astrong “The companyspecialises in marketing its certain earnings before interest, tax, deprecia- Kconsumer brand.Oriola,for itspart, is ahighly products directly to the doctor community tion and amortisation (EBTIDA) targets. valued distributor of health and wellbeing prod- through asalesforce of approximately 290 in- The companysaidthat the proposed trans- ucts and an expert in the pharmaceutical sector.” dividuals,”Ascendis commented. Sunwave’s actions wouldprovideanattractive platform for “Together,” continuedHautaniemi, “wewill portfolio includes the Altrifer children’siron Ascendis’ entryinto the Romanian OTCmar- start building aleading health, beauty and well- supplement,SunVita Gold multivitaminand the ket, “which aligns with Ascendis’stated strategy being chain in which Finnish people trust. Our Esentin Forte liver-health product. of focusing on the Central and Eastern Euro- plan is, as legislation permits, to expand the Meanwhile, NHP Pharma –headquartered pean region”. Furthermore, the firm said, the business into sellingpharmaceuticals,without in Cyprus’ capital, Nicosia –had developed a deals would “provide access to avast portfolio compromising on pharmaceutical safety, butem- “vastproductportfolio of complementary medi- of complementary medicines and pipeline of phasising service and expertise.” cines across nine major therapeutic areas” in newproducts that can be sold into the many Creation of the joint venture is subject to ap- collaboration with third-party suppliers, As- territories in which Ascendis is active”. OTC provalbyFinnish competition authorities. Retailing conglomerateKeskooperates in Distribution Agreements thegrocery,buildingand automotive sectors in nine European countries, including Finland, Poland and Russia. The companyreported sales J&J plots Hong Kong growth of C10.2 billion in 2016 and an operating profit ohnson &Johnson (J&J) has signed up Switz- marketing,sales, distribution andlogistics ser- of C237 million. Jerland-based market expansion specialist vices in bothretail and“professionalhealthcare Oriola generated sales of C1.6 billion in 2016 DKSH to drive growth at its Consumerbusiness outlets”–such as hospitals,clinics,doctors’ sur- from its operations across Finland, Sweden and in Hong Kong. geriesand pharmacies –across HongKong. the Baltic states. OTC Underthe terms of theagreement, DKSH’s More than 20 of J&J Consumer’sbrands Healthcareunitwill provideJ&J Consumer with were covered by thedeal, DKSH said, includ- ing the Aveeno skin-care range, Imodium gas- IN BRIEF trointestinal line, Nicorette nicotine-replace- GALENICA intends to execute itsprevi- menttherapy(NRT) products, and the Regaine ously announcedplan to split its operations hair-loss treatment. intotwo listed, independent companies dur- “The fact that amajor healthcare company ing thesecondquarter of 2017. In 2015, the firm likeJ&J outsources asignificant part of the saiditplanned to effectasplit to allowits Vi- business to DKSH underlines our strong posi- forPharma pharmaceuticalsdivision andGalen- tion in the Asian market,”commented Grace ciaSantéunit –which includes the company’s Lau, vice-president of DKSH’sHealthcarebusi- Consumer Healthcare business –tooperate in- ness. “The trust from J&J to growits business in dependently from each other (OTC bulletin, HongKong is abig boost for us to outperform 11 December2015,page6). OTC J&J’sAveenoskin-carerange in the market.” OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 5 OTC COMPANY NEWS

Spotlight on…Zurego

l ESTABLISHED: 2012 l PRODUCTS: l BASED: Stockport, UK BackJoy posture improvement; l SALES: <£1.0 million (<€1.2 million) Blis-Sox blister-prevention socks; l LEADERSHIP: Exfolimate and Spotner skin-care; Otostick prominent-ears corrective device Nick Thompson, l MARKETS: Americas, managing director Asia-Pacific, Europe l WEBSITE: Zurego.com

BUSINESS FOCUS spine to retainamore‘upright’ position, re- surgery for young children,”hesaid. “The “Zurego creates, sources and markets uni- lieving pressure thatcan lead to pain and stiff- product is able to correct aphysical issue that que, innovative health and beauty brands,”ac- ness and making it physically harder to slouch.” can have serious future psychological effects cording to the company’smanaging director Turning to Otostick, Thompson described on those affected.” Nick Thompson. the product as a“corrective prosthetic forprom- “A recently published study in the journal “Our proprietary and third-party brands are inent ears”. of the Spanish Primary Care Paediatrics As- generally niche products that have been proven “Otostick –aclassImedical device–physi- sociation (AEPAP) showed that Otostick Baby to be effective,” Thompson insisted. “All of the cally holds the outer ear against the scalp with permanently reduced the prominence of pro- brands in our portfolio address areal consumer aunique non-allergenic adhesive,which can truding ears in 90% of children aged three need in anew way.” remain in place for up to aweek,”henoted. “It months to six years by 3mm to 10mm after 12 “The companyisrun by our small family is discreet, practically invisible in use, water- months of regular use.” team,”hepointed out, “which has years of ex- proof and can be used on children aged from “Wehope that Otostick Baby will reduce perienceinresearching, creating andmarket- three years and above.” the need forcostly cosmetic surgery for many ing high quality consumer healthcare and cos- Zurego also offered asimilar device for childreninthe future,”Thompson insisted, metic products.” infants aged from three months, under the Oto- “saving families asignificant amount of money.” The privately-held UK-based firm’sportfo- stick Baby name, Thompson pointed out. lio currentlycomprises sixbrands,which it sells “Otostick Baby offers asimple, painless FUTURE STRATEGY in its domestic market and the Republic of Ire- and cost-effective alternative to correctiveear “Zurego’sambition for the coming years land. Zurego also exports its portfolio to main- is to expand organically,inboth scale and land Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. reach,”Thompson explained. “The business is self-funded and we want to remain that way KEY BRANDS for the foreseeable future.” “Our leadingbrands are BackJoyand Oto- “Our strategyfor the next threeyearsistoex- stick,”Thompson pointed out. tendour proprietary brand range and continue “The BackJoymedical device modifies a to build ourintellectual property,” Thompson user’ssitting posture to effectively prevent and pointedout.“We want to developand commer- relieve back pain,”henoted. “The device can cialise more unique, effective technologiesto be used on anyseat, in anysituation when sit- enhancethe business globally with other like- ting forlong periods, such as at homeorinthe minded companies.” office,orwhen travellinginacaroronaplane.” “Ultimately,” Thompson concluded, “we “BackJoyworks by lifting and tilting the want to provide arange of products that help pelvis,”Thompson explained, “allowing the our consumers to feel better.” OTC

For the opportunity to feature in the Spotlight section, email [email protected]

IN BRIEF DIAPHARM –the Germany-based phar- internationally active pharmaceuticalfirms formerhead of regulatory affairsatWill-Pharma, maceutical services provider –has expanded from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxem- has been appointedtoleadthe Dutch operation. its footprint in Europe by opening asubsidi- bourg”, the companyexplained. The newly- Verhage’s“medical expertise and experiencein ary in the Netherlands.Located in Breda, Dia- launched business would also help develop managing apharmaceutical company” made pharm BV would “focus on quality assurance, innovative products,the company added, “es- him the “perfect addition to Diapharm”, said pharmacovigilance and regulatory affairs for pecially for the OTCmarket”. Bert Verhage, the firm’sgeneral manager,Ralf Sibbing. OTC

6 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 GENERAL NEWS OTC

Business Strategy Industry stifling innovation

onsumer healthcare firms have “saturated “Weneed to be very careful not to push it too Cthe market” with line extensions and need to farand instead get backtomorefundamental “get back to more genuine innovation” to drive innovation,”Scheskeargued. growth, according to Manfred Scheske, chief Companies had twooptions to bring innova- executive officer of Infirst Healthcare and OTC tive products to market, Scheskeclaimed: refor- industry stalwart. mulating known substances or pursuing switches. Addressingdelegatesatarecent conference organised jointly by OTCToolbox and the Phar- Switches drivegrowth maceutical Licensing Group (PLG) in London, “Switches have been, and remain, the gold UK, Scheskesaidthat while line extensions standard of quantum leap growth for OTCfirms,” had “successfully grown manybig OTCbrands”, he insisted. “Switches can help companies to consumers and pharmacists were becoming step up to adifferent level. There have been great “increasingly irritated andconfused” by endless switch successes which have shaped the industry.” products labelled with terms such as ‘Ultra’, However, these victorieshad been, and con- Manfred Scheske ‘Extra’, or ‘Advance’. tinuedtobe, “very US-centric”, Scheskenoted. “Wetakeknown drugs and makethem better.” “Line extensions have beenabig driverof Switchesofproton-pump inhibitors(PPIs), Infirst had anumber of innovations in the growth, and we as an industry have introduced non-sedating antihistamines, and H2 blockers pipeline which it hoped to launch as either OTC more and more stock-keeping units (SKUs),” hadbeen“nowhere near as successful in Europe or prescription products, depending on regu- Scheskepointed out. “Wehavebecome very as in the US”, he asserted. latory approvaland ongoing partnering discus- creativeinthe waywehavesaturated themar- In addition, switchcandidates were likelyto sions, Scheskesaid.The companywas looking ket, coming up with products to treat, for exam- “be more scarce” in the future, Scheskeclaimed, at howtheobromine –analkaloid naturally pre- ple, different types of cough, such as chesty, as pharmaceutical companies continued to “de- sent in cocoa beans –could treat acough, he wet or irritable.” emphasise research in primary care” in favour noted, and exploring the potential of purified of specialitycare in areas such as oncology, rare haemoglobin to oxygenate chronic wounds. Risk of confusion diseases and virology. Infirst wasalso working on gaining regula- “Yes, this strategy has been successful,”he To increase the number of potential switch toryapprovalfor its Flarin “lipid dissolved” admitted, “but if every companydoes it then what candidates, industry could become more creative, ibuprofen product in Europe and the US, he effect will it have on theconsumer? Theywill Scheskesaid,and move intonew areas,suchas pointed out. The product wasgranted amarketing becomelost and confused,and this is aproblem chronic diseases or diagnostics.However,gain- authorisation in the UK last year. and arisk for our industry.” ingregulatory approvalfor such switcheswould Scheskesaidthat companies opting to follow “If we continuetoinflatebrandstoo farand be harder,headmitted. asimilar path to Infirst would “need to accept” introduce products that are less and lessmean- While recognising the value of switch to in- thattruly innovative products could potentially ingful, then we should not be surprised when dustry,ScheskesaidInfirst’sfavoured approach be assigned prescription status by regulators. patients and pharmacists become sick of the tidal wasthe “continuous improvement of estab- Thiswould meanspending additional time and wave of SKUs,”Scheskewarned. “The press lished drugs”. effort on aswitch application. and consumers have recently started to criticise “AtInfirst, we eaktak nown molecule and However, this wasarisk worth taking, Scheske and look more closely at the clevermarketing put it into anew formulation to producebetter ef- insisted. “The alternative is to just keep doing of products which are practically identical.” fectiveness,better safety, or both,” he explained. line extensions,”heconcluded. OTC

Mergers &Acquisitions segments in Hong Kong and China.” Jacobson recently expanded its Chinesecon- Jacobson grabs Hong Ning sumer healthcare portfolio by acquiring three OTCbrands from Ling Chi Medicine for an un- acobson Pharmaisset to take acontrolling “Hong Ning has awell-established com- disclosed sum (OTC bulletin,3February2017, J stake in Hong Kong-based wholesaler and mercial infrastructureand networkthat can help page 2). retailer Hong Ning Hong, in amove which the Jacobson reach out to customers in the southern All three brands –Saplingtan, Shiling Oil firmclaims will expand itsfootprint in China. China region,”commented the firm. andCol-gan –were“highlycomplementary” to Under the terms of the transaction –which “Through theretail and wholesale activities Jacobson’sexisting consumer healthcare offering, is expected to close on 3April 2017, subject of Hong Ning, we will be able to acquire first- the firm said at the time, and would “open up to regulatory approval–Hong Kong-based Jacob- hand market intelligence which will be valu- newopportunities” forthe companyto“strength- sonwill acquire forHK$56.0 million (C6.72 mil- able for capitalising on market opportunities en” itspresence in the OTCmarket. lion) a70% stakeinHong Ning. and newproduct developments,”continued Saplingtan,Shiling Oil andCol-gan will join Jacobsonsaidthe move would “strengthen” Jacobson. “Moving forward, we will continue Jacobson’sOTC portfolio which includes Po its “presenceand penetration” in China’scon- to focusonadvancing our sales strategy,aiming Chai Pills, ContractubexScar gel and Flying sumer healthcare market. for greater penetration into the OTCmarket Eagle Wood Lock-Lok medicated oil. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 7 OTC GENERAL NEWS

RegulatoryAffairs Market Research FDAand EMA Dutchsales improve agree deal by 3.9% to e710mn he European MedicinesAgency (EMA) Tand the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) haveagreed to recognise each other’s ales of OTC medicines, health products drugstores posted sales of OTCproducts up inspections of medicines manufacturing sites Sand medical devices in the Netherlands by 8.2% to C426 million (see Figure 3). within their respective territories. improved by 3.9% in 2016, with chain drug- Supermarkets also performed well, with sales Mutually recognising each other’sinspections, stores still the dominant force in the market. advancing by 5.6% to C87.1 million. All 3,460 thetwo agencies said, would “avoid the dupli- Figures from QuintilesIMS published by supermarketsinthe Netherlands are permitted to cationofdrug inspections, lower inspection costs Neprofarm –the trade association for the OTC sell general-sales list (GSL) OTCmedicines and andenable regulators to devote more resources industry in the Netherlands–showed thatsales other healthcare products, with 3,239 currently to other parts of the world where there may be at consumer prices of all OTCproducts had doing so. Of these, 782 supermarkets employa greater risk”. grown to C719 million in the 12 months. pharmacistwhich enables themalsotosellphar- Commenting on the agreement, the EMA Respiratory products were the biggest seller, macy-and drugstore-only OTCproducts. pointed outthataround 40% offinished medi- with salesrisingby5.8% to C152million,put- Sales in pharmacies edged up by 0.6% to cines marketed in the European Union (EU) came tingthe categoryahead of pain-relief products, C85.9 million in the 12 months. The Nether- fromoverseasand 80% of the manufacturers of sales of which advanced by 3% to C139 mil- lands’ nearly 1,600 independent pharmacies active pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines lion (see Figure 1). posted sales of OTCproducts up by 0.6% to available in the EU werelocatedoutsidethe Union. Of the top-six product categories,urogenital- C64.0 million, while chain pharmacies reported Thedeal with theFDA,itadded, would en- care products made thebiggest gain,with sales a0.7%rise to C21.9 million. sure thatpatients could “relyonthe quality,safety increasing by 8.6% to C35.4 million. Vitamins and minerals were the biggest sell- and efficacyofall medicines, no matter where Drugstores remained the biggest outlet for ing category in drugstores overthe 12 months, theyhavebeenproduced”. OTC products, accounting for overthree-quarters withsales advancing by 2.4%toC110 million, Theagreement wasunderpinned by “robust of all sales,withsupermarketsand pharmacies while respiratory products were the biggest evidence” on both sidesofthe Atlantic,the FDA making up the remainder (see Figure 2). sellers in both supermarkets and pharmacies. and EMApointedout,with both agencies hav- However, not alldrugstoresperformedwell Respiratorysaleswere up in supermarkets by ing“comparable regulatory and procedural frame- in 2016, with salesatindependent outlets fall- 10.7%toC28.3 million and down in pharmacies works forinspections of medicines manufacturers”. ing by 7.8% to C120 million. By contrast, chain by 2.7% to C19.0 million respectively. OTC “Teams from the European Commission,EU Product group Annual sales Change Pharmacies national competentauthorities, EMAand FDA (€ millions) (%) 11.9% have beenauditing andassessingthe respective Supermarkets Respiratory152.0 +5.8 12.1% supervisory systems since May2014,”the agen- cies pointed out, “and have worked closely to- Pain relief 138.9 +3.0 gether to reach this agreement.” Vitamins/minerals 130.8 +1.4 The deal is an annextothe EU-US Mutual Skin- and hair-care69.5 +2.7 Recognition Agreement which wassigned in Digestion 59.0 +6.0 1998 buthas not yet been implemented. Urogenital-care35.4 +8.6 Manyprovisions of the agreement have al- Other 133.4 +4.1 ready entered into force and others will enter into force on 1November 2017. Totalself-care719.0 +3.9 The EU already has mutual recognition of Figure1:The Dutchmarketfor OTCdrugs, health Drugstores 75.9% good manufacturing practice inspectionswith products and medical devices at consumer prices in 2016 broken down by product group Figure2:Breakdown of the Dutchself-care several countries, includingAustralia, Canada, (Source –QuintilesIMS) marketbysales channel (Source –QuintilesIMS) Japan, NewZealand and Switzerland. OTC Sales channel Number Annual sales Change of stores (€ millions) (%) Drugstorechain 1,649 425.8 +8.2 IN BRIEF Independent drugstore711 120.2 -7.8 EMA –the European Medicines Agency–is Totaldrugstores 2,360 546.0 +4.2 calling for scientific data to assess herbal tea Independent pharmacy 1,599 64.0 +0.6 combinations traditionally used to help treat a Pharmacy chain 384 21.9 +0.7 variety of conditions. The agencyislookingfor scientific datarelatedtoherbal tea combinations Totalpharmacies 1,983 85.9 +0.6 traditionally used to tackle digestive disorders Supermarkets 3,460 87.1 +5.6 and loss of appetite, as wellasnervous tension Totalself-care7,803 719.0 +3.9 andtoaid sleep.Submissionsshould be sentto Figure3:The Dutchmarketfor OTCdrugs, health products and medical devices at consumer prices the EMA by 31 May 2017. OTC in 2016 broken down by sales channel (Source –QuintilesIMS)

8 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 GENERAL NEWS OTC

RegulatoryAffairs ASA wants to engage industry

he UK’s Advertising Standards Authority back up their claims, theyshould be able to,” These included a“confidential and expert pre- T(ASA) is “intent on doing more to engage he insisted. “Simply pointing us to aCEmark publication copyadviceservice,”Parkernoted. and raise awareness of the advertising rules generally won’tcut it.” “The UK OTCindustry is blessed with an amongst OTC businesses”, according to its chief To raise awareness of the advertising rules excellent resource in PAGB’sown pre-publi- executive Guy Parker. amongstthe OTCindustry,the ASAwas com- cation approvalsystemfor member companies,” In aguest blogfor the ProprietaryAssocia- mitted to working more closely with PAGB to he added, “but it is worth checking out CAP’s tion ofGreat Britain (PAGB), Parker pointed “share information and highlight regulatory or diverse and high-quality offering too.” out that, “broadly speaking”, complaints against legislative developments that impactonrespons- One of the benefits of PAGB being amem- advertisements for OTCproducts were “relatively ible advertising in the sector”, Parker said. ber of CAP wasthat OTCbusinesses had a low”, with “roughly 1,800 complaints about PAGB had nowjoined the ASA’s Stake- “voice at the UK advertising code-writing table”, 1,100 adverts across the sector” last year. holder Engagement Programme, Parker re- Parker said, which meant that the association This wasout of atotalof30,500 complaints vealed, which wasdesigned to bolster relations played apart in developing the rules and avoid- about 17,000 advertisements in 2016, he added. andprovidea“direct andpersonal point of con- ing “unnecessary or wrong-headed regulation”. While for the OTCsectorthis wasgenerally tactwith the ASA” to improve communications John Smith, PAGB’schief executive,saidthe “good news”, the industry did not have a“com- and address problems quickly and effectively. association wasdelighted to have joined the pletely clean bill of health”. Furthermore, the ASA wasalso focused on ASA Stakeholder Engagement Programme, There were somerecurringthemesincom- providing external training and guidance to adding that it would improve the waythe two plaints received, Parker pointed out, especially businesses on the advertising rules and how organisations shared information. around the kind of claims that could be made. theyapplied, Parker explained, pointing out that “Welook forward to working more collabo- “For example, not all food supplement ad- the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) ratively with the ASA to ensure that advertis- vertisers realise that theyneed to comply with –whichwritesand maintains the UK’sadvertis- ing for OTCmedicines, medical devices and the nutritional and health claims regulation,” ingcodes –provided arange of resources for food supplements in the UK continues to be he continued. “If it is not an authorised claim, advertisers, the majority of which were free. responsible,”heinsisted. OTC you can’tmakeit.” Another area of concern wasmedical devices, Parker said, pointing out that just because aprod- uct hadbeen registered as amedical device did not mean that an advertiser would not have to back up efficacyclaims with robust evidence. Leading Innovation and Vision “If we approach an advertiser asking them to

RegulatoryAffairs EFSA rejects fat-loss claim he European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) T has rejected aclaim from Laboratoires Nutrition et Cardiométabolisme (LNC) that its Stablor supplement drink reduces visceral fat while maintaining lean mass. Followinganapplicationmade through the French competent authority,EFSA’sPanel on Nutrition, Dietetics andAllergies(NDA) ruled that while Stablor –adrink preparation with defined macro- and micro-nutrient composi- 1 Pharmacy Sales, Marketing & Distribution 5 Brand Strategy tion and aspecific proportion of amino acids –had been sufficiently characterised, acause 2 Global Grocery H&B Sales, Marketing & Distribution 6 Creative Design and effect relationship between the drink and 3 Category Management & Shopper Insight 7 Data Insight reduction of visceral fatwhile maintaining lean body mass had not been established. 4 Field & Experiential Marketing 8 Advisory The NDAPanel pointed out that none of the four human studies submitted in support of Get in touch today! the claim showed the effect of Stablor on vis- Visit www.ceutagroup.com - Call +44 (0)1202 449763 - email [email protected] ceral fatmass. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 9 OTC GENERAL NEWS

Market Research Colds boost German market

strong fourth quarter as Germany was hit Community pharmacy Mail order Aby awave of colds and flu helped non- 9 8,396 prescription sales through communityand mail- 8,092 8 7,534 +3.8% orderpharmacies to expand by 3.8% to C8.40 +7.4% 1,036 1,199 7 billion at retail prices last year, according to 950 data recently released by market researcher 6 billions) QuintilesIMS (see Figure 1). The value rise 5 came on volume growth of around 1%. 4 7,056 7,198 6,584 “That thetotal marketin2016 bookedgrowth 3 in themid single-digit range wasdue in particu- 2 lar to astrong fourth quarter”, when non-prescrip-

Annual sales ( e 1 tionsales increased by 7%, QuintilesIMS com- mented.“Productsfor colds and gastrointestinal 0 2014 2015 2016 complaints made major contributions to the growth, especially in November and December.” Figure1:Sales in Germanyoflicensedand unlicensednon-prescription products throughcommunity and mail-order pharmacies at retail prices between 2014 and 2016 (Source –QuintilesIMS) Observing that self-medication sales of OTC medicines and unlicensed healthcare products year.Ascan be seenfromFigure 2, witha1.8% intestinalproductswas drivenby“lowdouble- had accounted for more than four-fifths of the increase to C1.90 billion, sales of cough and cold digit” growth rates for probiotic products, irri- pharmacynon-prescription market last year,the treatments lagged behind the overall market table bowel treatments and antispasmodics. marketresearcher said three-fifths of prescrip- trend, despite the strong demand for cold and Within the fourth-largest product category tion-drivensales were due to private prescrip- flu productswa to rds the end of last year. –vitamins, minerals and supplements, which tionsordoctors’ recommendations through the Germany’ssecond-largestproductcategory, sawa5.7% sales rise to C914 million –mag- ‘green prescription’programmeofpads supplied oral and topical analgesics, came closer to match- nesium products continued to grow, as didAand to prescribers. Only around 40% of prescription- ing the overall market with 3.3% growth to C1.31 Dvitamins, as well as Bvitamins in monoand drivensales were through Germany’sstatutory billion. “While demand for general analgesics combination forms. health insurance scheme, as non-prescription for adults has stagnated overrecent years,” Skin-caresalesupby 5.1% to C798mil- medicines are only reimbursable for certain QuintilesIMS observed, “both valueand volume lion slightlyoutpaced the overall non-prescrip- groups, such as children aged up to 12 years. sales of products for muscle and joint pain have tion market. “Lowdouble-digit growth rates All of Germany’slargest non-prescription continued to rise.” were achievedbythe anti-allergy,itching and product categoriesgenerated sales growth last A5.5% rise to C1.18 billion in sales of gastro- eczema productgroups, as well as by products indicated for psoriasis,”QuintilesIMS noted. Category Annual sales Mail-order share Change Looking at the overall market by retail chan- (€ millions) by value (%) (%) nel,the market researcher pointed outthat sales Cough/cold 1,898.5 10 +1.8 through mail-order pharmacieshad climbed by Analgesics 1,307.6 15 +3.3 15.7% to C1.20 billion last year (see Figure 3).This increased their share of the marketbya Gastrointestinal 1,178.5 13 +5.5 percentage point to 14% as community phar- Vitamins,minerals and supplements 914.4 17 +5.7 macies were only able to report amore modest Skin care797.6 12 +5.1 2.0% riseinnon-prescription turnover, which Cardiovascular 514.5 21 +1.9 movedforward to C7.20 billion. OTC Eyecare371.5 15 +5.2

Genitourinary330.5 17 +7.2 Community +2.0% pharmacy Calming/sleeping aids 260.1 17 +3.9 Tonics,geriatrics 194.1 22 +3.9 Oral care95.1 8+2.4 Mail order +15.7% Nausea 76.8 8+4.8

Cessation aids 59.6 23 +5.2 Totalpharmacy +3.8% Weight-loss aids 44.2 39 -6.6 non-prescription Ear care26.7 6-1.0 0510 15 20 Others/unclassified 326.7 27 – Change (%) Totalpharmacynon-prescription 8,396.5 14 +3.8 Figure3:Growth ratesinGermanyfor licensed and unlicensed non-prescription products Figure2:Breakdown by productcategory of German sales oflicensed andunlicensed non-prescription through community and mail-order pharmacies products through community and mail-order pharmacies in 2016 (Source –QuintilesIMS) in 2016 (Source –QuintilesIMS)

10 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 GENERAL NEWS OTC

Market Research RegulatoryAffairs Switch could NZ considers future save CA$1bn witching just three classes of drugs from of codeine products Sprescription-to-OTC statuscould save Can- ada justover CA$1 billion(C699 million) an- ew Zealand’s Medicines Classification containing medicines to prescription-only. nually, according to anew reportfrom the not- NCommittee (MCC) is to discuss the possi- Outlining the pros and cons of keeping the for-profit think-tank Conference Board of Can- bilityoffollowing Australia’s lead in reclassify- current classifications for codeine-basedOTC ada (CBC). ingall OTCcodeine productsasprescription- medicines, Medsafe said that it would ensure The economic gains of switching proton-pump only medicines. easy access to stronger painrelieffor thosethat inhibitors (PPIs) to treat gastroesophageal re- At the 57th MCCmeeting held in November, required it or for those thathad asevere cough. flux disease (GERD), oral contraceptivesand thecommittee asked Medsafe to reviewthe out- However, therewas alack of efficacydata erectile-dysfunction drugs totalled just overCA$1 come of Australia’sdecision to reclassify co- proving codeinewas better thanotheravailable billion, the report claims. deine-containing products–adecision thatwas medicines, Medsafe pointedout,addingthat the Switching PPIs would have thebiggest im- confirmed earlier this yearOTC ( bulletin,13 current state of abuse or misuse of codeine- pact, saving Canadiansociety around CA$710 January 2017, page 9) –and provide arange of containing medicines wasunclear.Byretaining million, CBC says, whileallowing non-prescrip- options to be discussed at its next meeting on the current classifications, Medsafe claimed, there tion access to oral contraceptiveswould save 16 May 2017. would be acontinued risk. aroundCA$222 million anderectile-dysfunction Currently,codeine-based analgesics are classi- drugs CA$106 million. fied inwZ Ne ealand as restricted –pharmacist- Enable better monitoring Publichealthcaresystems would gain most only–medicines, while cough and cold products By contrast, reclassifying all codeine-contain- fromswitching the three drug classes, the report containing codeine are classifiedaspharmacy- ingmedicines to prescription-onlywouldenable pointsout,with OTCaccess to PPIs saving the only medicines. misuse and addiction to be better monitored, systems CA$382 million, oral contraceptives Medsafe has put forward fiveoptions for Medsafe pointed out,but thiswouldreduce con- CA$100 million and erectile-dysfunction drugs the MCC to consider: sumer choice and increase cost for the national CA$41.1 million. l Maintain the current classifications healthcare system. However, some of these savings, thereport l Current classification statements to be In January,Australia’sTherapeutic Goods says,would likely beoffsetbyadditionalcosts amended to restrict pack size, age of use and Administration (TGA) announced that all co- resulting frommisdiagnosisorpotential adverse add other warnings to improve safe use deine-containing medicineswould be reclassifi- events associated with OTCuse of the products. l Change the classification of codeine for ed as schedule 4–prescription-only– afterthe Foreach drugclass switchedthere would also cough and colds to restricted and keep the classifi- federal government’sscheduling delegate back- be “substantial economic benefit” from increased cationofcodeine in combined analgesicsthe same ed theagency’srecommendation, citing the “com- efficiencyand productivity gains, the report l Change the classification of codeine for pelling evidenceofthe harm caused by overuse claims,ranging fromCA$56.8million in annual cough and colds to restricted and keep the classifi- and abuse of OTCcodeine-containing medicines”. savings from switching erectile-dysfunction drugs cation of codeine in combined analgesics the The Australian Self-Medication Industry to CA$279 million for switching PPIs. same. Amend statements to restrict pack size, age (ASMI) condemnedthe decision, claimingthat it It wasalso expected that switching the three of use and add other warnings to improve safe use would “disadvantage” consumers, reduce choice, classes of drugs would lead to “significant v-sa l Change theclassification rafo ll codeine- and increase costs for the healthcare system. OTC ings” for employers/society,private drug-plan sponsors andindividuals who currentlydid not Market Research have access to prescription drug coverage, the reports adds, due to thelower costofOTC drugs E-cigs lose ground with UK quitters and the removalofdispensing fees. While thiswould increase access to afford- ver thepasttwo years, thenumber of UK aprescription from ahealthcare professional. able medications for people in lower income Osmokers or ex-smokers using e-cigarettes Meanwhile, the value of the e-cigarette cat- brackets, the CBC says, people who had health- to breaktheir habit has declined, according to a egory–which jumped by 300% in 2013 –had care insurance would incur extra costs from new study from market-research firmMintel. taperedoff,Mintel noted, rising by 8% in 2015 and buying the medicine OTC. While e-cigarettes remainedthe UK’smost 6% in 2016 to reach £230 million (C265 million). The report from the CBC –which is avail- popular smoking-cessation method, the pro- ableatconferenceboard.ca –isthe first partof portion of smokers and ex-smokers using e- E-cigaretteusage steady atwo-part studyofthe impact of prescription- cigarettes to quit smoking dropped from 69% Overall consumer usageofe-cigaretteshad to-OTC switching in Canada. in 2014 to 62% in 2016. remained steadyat17% since2014,the firm re- In the second report, the CBC will investi- By contrast to the falling use of e-cigarettes, vealed, with as manyas53% of the UK public gate barriers to switchinginCanada,with afocus use of OTCnicotine-replacementtherapy(NRT) believing that e-cigarettes should be made availa- on scheduling and recommendations for key products and prescribed NRTgumsand patches ble through the National Health Service (NHS). stakeholdersincludinggovernment, manufac- had remained the same, Mintel said, noting that However, thereremained concerns overthe turers, pharmacists/pharmacy,researchersand OTCNRT products were used by 15% of UK products, Mintel said, with 57% of the UK public the general public. OTC smokers to help kick the habit, while 14% got wanting more information on e-cigarettes. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 11 OTC OTC MARKETING AWARDS

Award: OTCCompanyofthe Year Sponsor: IRI Winner: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare OTCMarketing Awards 2017

GlaxoSmithKlinewon Companyofthe Year at the OTCMarketing Awards 2017. These were presented by OTC bulletin –inassociation with IRI – at London’sParkLane Hotel on 9March 2017.

DanFinke of IRI underlinedthe Awards’ significance Comedian Hal Cruttenden entertained guests OTC bulletin’s Matt Stewartopened the evening

12 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 OTC MARKETING AWARDS OTC

Award: OTCBrand of the Year Award: OTCBrand Revitalisation of the Year Sponsor: OTC bulletin Award: OTCLaunchofthe Year Supportedby: PAGB Winner: Voltarol, GlaxoSmithKline Winner: Lemsip Cough, Reckitt Benckiser Winner: Voltarol, GlaxoSmithKline

Award: Best OTCMarketing Campaign Award: Best OTCMarketing Campaign on on aSmallBudget Award: Most InnovativeNew OTCProduct aBig Budget Sponsor: James DudleyManagement Sponsor: OTC bulletin-i Sponsor: Skills in Healthcare Winner: Deep Heat and Deep Freeze, Winner: Regaine forWomen Once aDay Winner: Canesten, Bayer; campaign by Mentholatum; campaign by IDA, LesleyKeen PR, Scalp Foam, Johnson &Johnson J. Walter Thompson, Mediacom Nexus Healthcare, the7stars

Award: Best OTCConsumer Advertising in the Press or Out-of-Home Award: Best OTCSocial Media Campaign Award: Best OTCDigital or Winner: Superdrug Online Doctor,Superdrug; Winner: Covonia,Thornton &Ross; Mobile Marketing Campaign campaign by McCann Health campaign by Bray Leino Winner: Canesten, Bayer; campaign by Mediacom

Photographs taken on the night can be purchased from Smile Photography www.smilephotography.net

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 13 OTC OTC MARKETING AWARDS

Award: Best OTCAudio-Visual Advertising Award: Best OTCPublic Relations Campaign Award: Best OTCPublicRelations Campaign Sponsor: IRI foraMedicine foraNon-Medicine Winner: Calpol, Johnson &Johnson; campaign Winner: Dulcolax, Sanofi; campaign by Winner: Sudocrem Care&Protect,Teva; by J. Walter Thompson Amazon PR campaign by SatellitePR

Award: Best OTCPharmacyTraining Winner: Boots HealthcareWay,Boots UK; Award: Best OTCTrade Advertising & training by CIG HealthcarePartnership Award: Best NewOTC Packaging Design SupportPackage Sponsor: Generics bulletin Sponsor: Chemist +Druggist Winner: Regaine forWomen Once aDay Scalp Winner: Optrex,Reckitt Benckiser; campaign by Foam, Johnson &Johnson VerveMarketing London

Award: Best OTCMultiple Retailer of the Year Sponsor: GlaxoSmithKline Winner: Boots UK

Award: Best OTCPerformer Outside Pharmacy Award: Best OTCPharmacySalesforce Sponsor: Asda Pharmacy Winner: –Johnson &Johnson Winner: Calpol, Johnson &Johnson

SAVE THE DATE Next year’sAwards Congratulations to all the team membersatthe will take place on companies and agencies that were responsible forthe nominated, highly-commended, runner-up 8March 2018 and winning entries at OTC bulletin’s prestigious OTCMarketing Awards 2017.

14 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 MARKETING NEWS OTC

Digital Marketing Corsodyl movespast science

mphasising the benefits and emotional featured peopleengaging in health Eimpact thatCorsodyl has on UK consum- and wellnessactivities,such as exer- ers’lives –while reducing the traditional focus cising and eating healthily.These on the sciencebehindGlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) people were shown doing “eve- oral-carebrand –was thepurposeofthe brand’s rything you can to look after your recent digital content-marketing campaign. futureself”, butviewers werere- “The days of OTCadvertisements merely minded thatthis should also include talking about science are over,”claimed Paul their gums. Theyshould “start today” Mallett, managing partner at marketing com- to create anew gum-care regime munications agencyBrass, which created the with Corsodyl. campaign for Corsodyl. Mallett pointedout thatthe Face- “Inthe hyper-competitive, always-on,opin- book videos for Corsodyl had been ionated worldofonline andsocial, youneedto based on anumber of consumer stand out in terms of both relevance and prod- insights, which had shown that pot- Corsodyl’scontent marketing included videos uct efficacy,”hemaintained. “Claims need to ential users of the brand were already be substantiatedbypeer-to-peer recommenda- interested in their health and wellbeing. shop online or find out more information. tion,your consumer stories need to be real, and Aconsumer panel of “hundreds of thou- By the final content pieces, the campaign the role of yourproduct in yourconsumers’lives sands” wasjust one example of the industry seemed more like traditional advertising, Mal- must be simple and tangible.” toolsand analytics that hadhelpedBrassdeter- lett noted. However, this method still differed When developing Corsodyl’scontent-mar- mine its target demographic for Corsodyl,Mal- to ‘interruptive’marketing, he pointedout. Con- keting campaign, Brass wasaimingto“tell a lett explained. The panel had been accessed sumers would only see the shorter advertise- story” which consumers would find “naturally through the GlobalWebIndextool, he noted, ments that encouraged them to buyCorsodyl engaging”, Mallett explained. This contrasted whichalsoofferedadditional information on the because they’dalready expressed an interest with “traditional, ‘interruptive’advertising”, such target audience, such as the digital channels in, and engaged with, the content of the longer as television commercials or billboards,that “de- theyused, howoften theyused them and what Corsodyl lifestyle videos. manded”aconsumer’sattention,Mallettinsisted. kind of content theyengaged with, as well as Once consumers had been directed to the Such wasthe powerofcontent marketing, the kinds of brands theywere interested in. Corsodyl website, it wasimperative that this he maintained, that if executed correctly,itcould platform was“approachable” and helped them “completely replace above-the-line activity”. In tune with social-media use learn about oral problems suchasbleeding gums It could have “more impact, relevance, recall From this insight,Brass wasable to produce andthe steps theycould taketotreat such con- and purchase-driving power than any30-sec- content that was“in tune”withhow consumers ditions. Such approachablility avoided ahigh ond advertisement or one-dimensional poster”, used social channels and that showed the ben- ‘bounce rate’ –where consumers left the web- he insisted. efits of aproduct to consumers in away that site without visiting anyareas other than the Corsodyl’scontent-marketing campaign had theycould identify with, he maintained. home page, Mallett added. the aim of “helping, inspiring, validating and Buying media on achannel likeFacebook Providingquality informationwas alsokey entertaining” the brand’starget audience of 25- was“exceptionally competitive”, Mallett point- to driving visits to the website outside of the 54 year olds, Mallett said, and to makethem ed out, as it offered the potential to reach Facebook links, Mallett said, by ensuring it feelthatitwas “worth them investingtheir time” more people than television advertising. appeared high on the list of “organic” online in looking at such content. Offering consumers Corsodyl’sfocus on videos, Mallett added, search results –those based on content, rather information about Corsodyl in away that was tapped intoFacebook’s drive to encourage more than those that had been paid for. relevant to them would help “embed” it in con- consumption of this medium by its users, parti- Turning to brand recall, Mallett maintained sumers’ lives, he insisted. cularly via mobile phones. the Corsodyl campaign had showna10% uplift Central to the Corsodyl campaign were videos Facebook videos also offered potential Cor- in recall for the longer,lifestyle-themed videos. for both men and women that had been created sodyl consumers adifferent experience to a30- This demonstrated that viewers, particularly specifically for the brand’sFacebook page. These second television advertisement, Mallett con- males, had been interested in themessagesuch tinued. Theycould capture an increased share content presented, he pointed out, adding that of consumers’ attention and be used to elaborate sales had also increased as aresult of “ce- on howthe brandcould benefitusers’ lives. menting” the brand in people’sminds through Consumers who watched more than half of the marketing activity. aCorsodyl video, Mallett explained, had their Further Corsodyl activity would build on interest logged and were offered additional thecontent-marketing campaign to “reaffirm” content in the form of shorter videos and other the brand’s “role in consumers’ lives”, Mallett messages. These movedthem “from awareness, noted, focusing on “not just the science behind through triggering action, into purchase” by en- not treating gum problems, butthe emotional couraging them to ‘click-through’tothe Cor- struggles, and the journeythat people go on to Paul Mallett sodyl website, corsodyl.co.uk,where theycould maintain their teeth and gum health”. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 15 OTC MARKETING NEWS

Product Launches Product Launches Weifagrows Merck’s Femibion Paracetduo orway’sWeifa has grownits Paracetduo set forexpansion N500mg/65mg paracetamol combination brand in its domesticmarketwithanefferves- erck KGaA is set to make its Femibion centtablet option. MBabyPlanung –‘BabyPlanning’ –supple- Containing 500mg paracetamol –also known ment available next month to Hungarian and as acetaminophen–and 65mgcaffeine per tablet, Polish women wishing to conceive. the latest addition is indicated for the short-term Currently available in Austria and Germany, treatment of mild-to-moderate pain, such as head- the product is said by the firm to “support women ache, toothache, menstrual pain, muscle and from themomenttheydecide to have ababy”. joint pain, and fever. EachFemibion BabyPlanung tabletprovided Suitable for those aged over15years, the 800µg of “folate-mix”, Merck noted, which com-

Paracetduo 500mg/65mg effervescent option prised the recommended 400µg of folic acid ‘Baby-making places’ is the campaign theme joins the Paracetduo tablets launched in 2013. with the same amount of Metafolin, the com- Weifasaiditexpected the latest variant to strength- pany’spatented folate ingredient. can enjoyfor ababy-making holiday”. en its current position as market leader in the OTC The product alsoprovides“sixotheressen- Merck said the aim of the promotional push paracetamol products arena, which the com- tial nutrients”, Merck claims. These are vita- wasto“supportcouples to be prepared for when mins B2, B6 and B12, as well as vitamin D3, theyconceive,but also to try and remove the vitamin Eand iodine. everyday stresses thatcan plague those planning Femibion BabyPlanung –which is available in for ababy,while spotlighting the importance four-week and eight-week supplies –should be of folate for women during this period”. taken foratleast one monthbefore conception, The main messages of the campaign were the companysays. thattherewere“manygreat placestoget preg- The launch of the supplement in Hungary nant”, the firm noted, and that conception could and Poland would be supported by the same happen “any time, anywhere” –but “with Femi- ‘Headache?’ the advertisement asks ‘baby-making places’-themed campaign –which bion, you are well-prepared”. pany claimed wasworthNOK263 million (C29.4 is focusedonromantic locations where couples Thiscampaignthemefeatured on digital plat- million) forthe past 12months at retail. Weifa could try to conceive –that wascurrently run- forms such as the Femibion Facebook page, pointed out that it held an 89% share of the seg- ning in Austria and Germany, Merck said. Merck pointed out, as well as on the brand web- mentthrough the Paracet andParacetduo brands. As part of the activity,the firm has partnered site, femibion.de,and across online banners. One-to-twoofthe lemon-flavoured Paracet- with “key bloggers from Austria, Belgium, Ger- Meanwhile, both healthcare professionals duo500mg/65mgeffervescenttablets should be many,Hungary,Poland and Spain to put to- andconsumers would be targeted through print taken as needed up to three timesdaily,the firm gether thetop-12destinations in Europecouples and public-relations activity,the firm said. OTC said, with an interval of at least four hours be- tween each dosage. Weifanoted that the launch of the Paracet- duo 500mg/65mgeffervescent tabletswas being supported by atelevision campaign, which was also featuring on online channels such as digital newspapers and YouTube. The 15-second commercial starts with adrum- mer, before the advertisement zooms out to show Laboratorios Heel has launched arange of that he is inside the head of aman, who is sitting ‘symbiotic’ products in Spain under the brand with children running around him. Perrigo has begun shipments in the US of its name Gasteel. “Headache?” the commercial asks, before store-brand equivalent to McNeil’sWomen’s The line of three soluble powder options Rogaine 5% Minoxidil Topical Aerosol. comprises aGasteel product forthose aged adding: “Paracetduo with caffeine enhances the The roll-out of the topical foam represented a“first- between 17 and 50 years, a‘Kid’ offering for pain-relieving effect of paracetamol. Nowalso to-market” achievement forPerrigo,the store-brand children under 16 years of age,and a‘Plus’ as an effervescent tablet.” specialist pointed out, and offeredconsumers a variant forconsumers overthe age of 50 years. “high-quality,value alternative” to the Women’s Heel pointed out that eachproduct featured a In-store campaignswould alsorun in phar- Rogaine option, which waslaunched by Johnson “unique” composition of ingredients –including macies at variouspointsthroughoutthe yearto &Johnson’sOTC subsidiaryovertwo yearsago probiotics and aprebiotic,aswell as vitamins support the launch, Weifasaid. (OTC bulletin,28November 2014, page 15). and minerals –that was“suitable foreach Indicated to regrow hairontop of the scalp patient profile”. The companypointed out that the consumer- of women with hereditaryhair loss,Women’s All products arepresented in astick-pack facingactivity would run untilthe end of April, Rogaine 5% Minoxidil Topical Aerosol –whichis format. One stickshould be dissolved in water beforestarting again in the autumn. Weifasaid suitable forthose aged over18years –generated daily,Heelsays, preferably in the mornings. annual sales of around US$20 million (e18.9 The firmnoted that the Gasteel line wasthe it wasalso considering launching aprint cam- million) in the 12 months ended February2017, first in its ‘HeelProbiotics’ range,whichwould be paign for the product later in the year. OTC Perrigo pointed out. OTC extended with further products later in the year. OTC

16 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 MARKETING NEWS OTC

Product Launches Q&A with Diomed to GSK’s bolster Iglü CharlottePerry iomed is settoexpand its Iglü mouth-ulcer Dtreatmentline in independent UK pharmacies Voltarol Brand next month withaProtect orthodonticbrace gel. The medical device would also be launched Manager,GB into health andbeauty retailerSuperdrug in June, the UK-based companysaid. Noting that “increasing numbers of children What has been the biggest achieve- macist whenever possible. Consumers are more and adults” were wearingdentalbraces –with Qment of your OTC marketing career? educated than ever before, with the average per- more than200,000 peoplestarting treatment in sonspending overtwo hours aday online. For England and Wales in 2016 –Diomed point- After two-and-a-half years working on this reason, we are adopting adigital mindset ed out that acommon complaint from brace A GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) Future Lead- when educating consumers about our brands. wearerswas that theorthodontic devices could ersgraduate training programme, Iwas really We have done alot of work on understanding rubagainstthe insidesofthe cheeks, “quickly proud to get my role in the marketing team consumers’ digital behaviour and we are con- causing irritation and sores”. These problems forVoltarol, akey growth-driving brand. stantly working on developing andimprov- could also be caused by “obtrusive”brackets, It is alsoalways avery satisfying moment ing the content we produce. We have also put wires and bands, the firm added. when acampaign on which you have worked astrongemphasis on ensuring pharmacists are The sugar-free brace gel wasdesigned to form so hard goes live –Voltarol is on the television, fully equipped to answer consumers’ questions. an “adhesive,malleableand protectivebarrier” theradio and in the press at the moment. Win- when it came into contactwithsalivainside the ning OTCBrand of theYear and OTCBrand What has been the most important mouth, Diomed explained. This coated and sur- Revitalisation of the Year at this year’sOTC Q lesson of your career? rounded dental braces to helpprevent them dam- Marketing Awards (OTC bulletin Winners aging adjacent soft tissue. Supplement,9March 2017, pages S12 and Some key lessons for me are that com- It alsoformed an adhesivecovering oversoft S15) has also been acareer highlight. A munication is absolutely fundamental adjacent tissue areasthat had already beendam- –and by thisImean actuallytalking to people aged, the firm noted, adding that the gel pro- What hasbeenthe biggest challenge when we can, rather than sending countless tected users during eating and drinking. Q of your OTC marketing career? emails –and, as we work in the complex Iglü Protect orthodontic brace gel used the world of healthcare, we need to keep things same “adhesive coating technology”, Diomed Havingnot come from ascience back- simple whenever we can. pointed out, as the existing medicated Iglü orig- Aground, Ihave had to learn about the inal and Rapid Repair gels –both containing fundamental medical and regulatory constraints How do you see OTC marketing dev- lidocaine and aminoacridine –for mouth ulcers. that are involved in working on amedicine. Q eloping in the future? These gels form acovering overthe ulcers to Patientsafety is of paramountimportance and “physically protect” them as theyheal. GSKhas astrongexpert, regulatoryand medi- There will be ashift towards digitalpre- Available in a“handy squeeze tube for con- cal team whichhas helpedmewithmytrain- A scriptionsthrough online doctorappoint- venient use onthe go”, the Iglü Protect gelhad ing in this area. ments, so OTC marketing needs to continue to amild mint flavour and could be used by “al- move into the digital space to meet the needs most anyone of at least sevenyears of age”, the How have consumers changed over of consumers who are looking for convenient firm said. The product could be applied asoften Q the course of your career, and how solutions. With aplethora of information avail- as required and could easily be removedbynor- have you responded? able from robustsources, thereisarise in self- mal tooth brushing, the companyadded. diagnosis; marketeers needtobepresent at all Promotionalactivity would begin in Juneto We areseeing ashift towards thede- stages of the consumer journey, including in supportthe launchofthe gel, Diomed noted.This A siretoself-diagnose andutilise the phar- the right places online at the right time. OTC will include television advertising, as well as tar- geted marketing to dentistsand orthodontists. For the opportunity to feature in the Q&A section, TheIglü line in the UK also offers pastilles email [email protected] with benzalkonium chloridesolution and com- pound benzoin tincture. OTC

IN BRIEF REIG JOFRE is supporting in Spain its doctors”. Claiming that the conditionaffected contributed to female androgenetic hair loss, recently-launched Complidermol 5α Plus sup- around 40% of women aged over50, the Span- butalso helped treat the “oxidative and inflamma- plement for female androgenetic alopecia through ishfirm pointed out that the supplement tack- tory” causes. The marketing activity would be promotional activitygeared towards“specialist led not only the “known hormonal factor” that ongoing, the companysaid. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 17 OTC MARKETING NEWS

Product Launches Marketing Campaigns Gelsectan Infirst points to to launch newcough path orgine plans to roll out Noventure’s Gel- Nsectan oral capsules for irritable bowel syn- drome(IBS) in Spain, Portugal and Andorra in nfirstHealthcare–the maker of UniCough the second half of the year, after signing acom- I–isencouraging UK pharmacists to take mercialisation agreementwith the Spanishfirm. notice of new research thatmaintains the way Under the terms of the deal, Norgine will cough treatments are recommendedisoutdated. market anddistribute Gelsectan –aclassIIa, CE- The traditional treatment ‘pathway’, it adds, is no marked medical device for the treatment of IBS longer relevant when recommending cough with diarrhoea –simultaneously in the three remedies to consumers. countries,which will be the first to seethe launch Instead, Infirst is promoting anew pathway. of the oral capsules. Noventure –anarm of Spain’s Once pharmacists have identified wlho ongcon- Ferrer–will manufacture Gelsectan, which con- sumers have had their cough, there is no real UniCough is indicated forcommon coughs tains acombination of xyloglucan, vegetal pro- benefittoasking what ‘type’ of cough–such as pares the chocolate-flavoured, pharmacy-only (P) teins and xylo-oligosaccharides. dry,tickly cough or chesty cough that produces UniCough liquid –providing 135mg ammonium The target market would be those with “in- phlegm –theyhave, the companyinsists. chloride,14mg diphenhydramine hydrochloride testinal mucosa alterations with symptoms of Thisalternative pathway–whichisdue to be and 1.1mg levomenthol per 5ml –against a‘stand- diarrhoea”, Norginenoted. publishedonlinebythe Royal Pharmaceutical ard linctus’productfor treating acute cough. Commenting on the deal, Luciano Conde, Society’s Clinical Pharmacist in early April – Using 163 people from 14 pharmacies and Noventure’schiefexecutiveofficer,notedthat statesthatpharmacists should enquire whether four generalpractitioner (GP) surgeries, the study Norgine wasa“recognised leader in the treat- aconsumer hasacold or flu,aswellasany ac- is claimed to be the largest-everrandomised ment of gastrointestinal diseases with awell- companyingsymptoms to their cough, such as control trial of an OTCcoughmedicine under- established presence in Spain and Portugal”. headache, feverand runnynose. takeninthe UK. Meanwhile, Norgine said it would “continue If no ‘red flag’ signs –such as blood, local- TheRococostudyfound thatafterthreedays to evaluate”future opportunities for Gelsectan ised chest pain and excessive sputum –are pre- of treatment, ‘cough resolution’was achieved in through its “European infrastructure” on “a mar- sented, consumers should be informed about 29.3% of the subjects using UniCough, while ket-to-market basis”. OTC OTCcough suppressantsand demulcents,whose it was17.3% in those using linctus. Cough efficacyisbackedbyclinical evidence. frequencywas reduced in 51.2% of the group, Infirst is promotingthe newpathwaytophar- compared with 41.9% of the linctus group. macists stocking its UniCough brand, highlight- Furthermore, sleep disruption wasreduced ing excerpts from asupporting peer-reviewed in over half –56.7% –ofthose usingUniCough, report and information from astudy that has versus two-fifths –40.7% –ofthose using the recently been published in the British Medical simple linctus. Journal’s (BMJ’s) BMJ Open. Thestudy respondedtoa2014 Cochrane Re- Authored by Professor Alyn Morice fromthe view, Infirst noted, which decriedthe lack ofevi- University of Hull and York Medical School, dence for the efficacyofOTC cough medicines. the supporting report states that the current recom- Unicough is claimed to be the first P-classi- GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare(GSK) has mendation process for cough is outdated, and that fiedcough medicine licensed in 30 years that partnered with arthritis charity Arthritis Research UK to “get the nation moving” and driveawareness allcommon coughs arecaused by“cough reflex hasbeen clinically proventoreduceall common of mild osteoarthritis. hypersensitivity” –increased sensitivityofthe coughs associatedwithcold and upperrespira- As partofthe collaboration –supporting the nerve endings in thethroat –resulting fromupper tory-tract infections. larger,180gpacksize of its diclofenac-based Voltarol Emulgel Ptopical analgesic –GSK is respiratory-tract infections or the common cold. It is also said to be the only Pcough medi- sponsoring aseries of videos on the Arthritis The report points out that this can be treated cineauthorised by the Medicines and Healthcare Research UK website, arthritisresearchuk.org by viscous liquids that form acoating to calm products Regulatory Agency(MHRA) for the offering advice on “simple movements to help osteoarthritis sufferers manage their condition”. the irritated nerveendings. “relief of common coughs”. GSK claims that the latest 180g packsize offers It also notes that UniCough is “significantly While pharmacists were being targeted through “allthe benefits of Voltarol Emulgel Pbut with the more viscous than three widely-usedOTC cough mailers and training materials, Infirst said an convenience of alarger quantity forosteoarthritis sufferers that can last foratwo-week flare-up”. remedies”, and that its “highly concentrated educational video for consumers would run across Arthritis sufferers will also have the opportunity natural cocoaflavour –20% –forms athick en- “digital media platforms”. to sign up through the websitetoafive-day hanced demulcent, which in the buccal cavity Featuring sciencedocumentarymaker Dallas plan whichincludesexpertadvice,case studies and hints and tips regarding the condition.The andthroat forms asoothing filmoverthe mucous Campbell, the video explores viscosity and makes videos would be supportedthrough further membrane that brings it into contact with the “references to howviscosity is highly impor- online activity to “increase the reachofthe sensitive nerveendings of the throat lining”. tant to coughreduction”. The videowould also campaign”, GSK noted. The last daytosign up forthe five-dayplan Morice also co-authored the so-called ‘Ro- be rolled out editorially to “mainstream press is 9May. OTC coco’ study featured in BMJ Open.This com- where appropriate”. OTC

18 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 EVENTS OTC

APRIL 30 May-1 June AESGP Conference 12 April Vienna,Austria OTCMedicines Advertising ‘Self-care in achanging world’ is the theme of this three-day event organised by the Association London, UK of the European Self-Medication Industry,the AESGP. Organised by the ProprietaryAssociation of Great There will be sessions on: ‘Global changes and their implications on consumer healthcare’; Britain (PAGB), this one-day workshop will ‘Howtobesuccessful in self-care’; and ‘E-health facilitating self-care’. look at howthe advertising and promotion Speakers will include: Guido Rasi and Christa Wirthumer-Hoche of the European Medicines of OTCmedicines is controlled and howthe Agency(EMA); Brian McNamara of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare; Catherine Devine rules can be interpreted to demonstrate that of Johnson &Johnson; Laurent Faracci of Reckitt Benckiser; Dirk Ossenberg-Engels of Bayer effective advertising is still possible in this Consumer Health; Briain de Buitleir of PGT Healthcare; Chris Slager of Pfizer Consumer complexregulatory environment. Healthcare; Andy Tisman of IMS; and Karl Pall of Google. Contact:PAGB. Contact:AESGP.Tel: +32 273 55130. Email: [email protected]. Website: aesgp.eu/53. Tel: +44 20 7242 8331. Email: [email protected]. Website: pagb.co.uk. 16 May for business development decision makers Building Regulatory Excellence for discussing and negotiating collaborative 19-21 April Bangalore, India agreements in licensing, marketing, and dis- Pharmaceutical Regulatory Aone-day event, run by The Organisation for tribution of patented medicines, generics, bio- Affairs in Asia Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA), similars, OTCproducts, medical devices and London, UK focusing on howpharmaceutical organisations food supplements. Countries including India, Japan, Korea, Sing- in India can build regulatory excellence globally. Contact:RauCon. apore, Taiwan and Thailand will be discussed at Contact:TOPRA. Tel: +49 6221 426 2960. this three-day conference. Tel: +44 20 7510 2560. Email: [email protected]. Contact: Management Forum. Email: [email protected]. Website: europlx.com. Tel: +44 20 7749 4730. Website: topra.org. Email: [email protected]. JUNE Website: management-forum.co.uk. 23-26 May 3rdAnnual Asia HealthcareSummit 18-22 June MAY Singapore DIA Annual Meeting Three co-located conferences will takeplace Chicago,US 9May during this four-day event. ‘Driving insights to action’ is the theme of this Introduction to Contact:IBC. five-day annual meeting organised by the Drug Pharmaceutical Law Tel: +65 6508 2401. Information Association (DIA). Bonn, Germany Email: [email protected]. Contact: DIA. Topics to be covered at this one-day event –run Website: asiahealthcaresummit.com. Tel: +41 61 225 5151. by Germany’smedicines manufacturers’ asso- Email: [email protected]. ciation, the BAH–include authorisation, manu- 23-24 May Website: diaglobal.org/en/flagship/dia-2017. facturing and testing and pharmacovigilance. Pharmaceutical Regulatory 26-27 June Contact:BAH. Affairs in the Middle East Tel: +49 228 957 4556. London, UK Pharma Marketing Email: [email protected]. Countries to be covered at this two-day seminar Bonn, Germany Website: bah-bonn.de/widi-services/ include Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Qatar,Saudi ‘Facing the future’ is the theme of this two-day fachseminare. Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). event, which will discuss howthe pharmaceuti- Contact:Management Forum. cal industry could optimise future opportunities. 9-11 May Tel: +44 20 7749 4730. Contact: Inspirato. Vitafoods Europe Email: [email protected]. Tel: +49 151 624 179 41. Geneva,Switzerland Website: management-forum.co.uk. Email: [email protected]. Athree-day exhibition and conference focus- Website: inspirato-pharma-marketing.de. ing on nutraceuticals, and functional foods 24 May and drinks. Consumer Healthcare OCTOBER Contact:Informa Exhibitions. Investment USA Tel: +44 20 3377 3616. NewJersey, US 24 October Email: [email protected]. This one-day event is described as amarket- Website: vitafoods.eu.com. place and showcase of ‘next-gen’ consumer Global Generics & healthcare and wellness companies that are Biosimilars Awards 11-12 May actively seeking growth capital, merger and Frankfurt, Germany CHPARegulatory,Scientific acquisition opportunities or product licensing. These awards recognise ‘best practice’ in the &Quality Conference Contact:Kisaco Research. global generics and biosimilars industries. Maryland, US Tel: +44 20 3696 2920. Organised by Generics bulletin,theyreward Subtitled ‘Advancing Consumer Self-Care’ Email: [email protected]. business development initiatives, cleverlicens- this two-day event is run by the US Consum- Website: consumerhealthinvestusa.com. ing deals and smart legalmanoeuvres. er Healthcare Products Association (CHPA). Contact: Generics bulletin. Contact:CHPA. 29-30 May Tel: +44 1564 777550. Tel: +1 202 429 9260. EuroPLX 64 Email: [email protected]. Email: [email protected]. Vienna,Austria Website: generics-bulletin.com/generics- Website: chpa.org/rsq. This two-day meeting will provide aforum biosimilars-awards.aspx

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 19 OTC MULTIPLE RETAILERS

Acclaimedfor its championing of innovation by ourjudgingpanel of senior British OTCindustry executives, Bootsran away from thechasing packtosecuredecisively OTC bulletin’s Awardfor Best OTCMultiple Retailer of theYear. TomGallen reports. Boots racesawaywith title

enior executivesinthe UK’scon- uct offering and regular supplier engagement. services ensures Boots is the market leader in sumer healthcare industry con- DayLewis secured secondplace–justasit theBest OTCMultiple Retailer of theYear cat- sider that Boots is the country’s haddone ayearearlier –with 92 points and an egory,” commented one panel member. SBest OTCMultiple Retailer of the average score of 7.67 out of 10. Twojudges Asecond judge also praised Boots’ “unri- Year by acomfortable margin. gave DayLewis –anindependent pharmacy valled” retail footprint in the UK: “Asaretail Atop score from sevenofthe judges gave chain operating more than 250 stores across partner,Boots offers aplatform that enables us Boots –which is part of US-based wholesale the South of England –theirbest score, withone to achieve the high levelofvisibility and store and retail giant Walgreens Boots Alliance(WBA) – commenting on the chain’s“desire to work in numbers that are important for our brands.” atotal score of 107 points out of apossible 120, partnership with manufacturers”and its“com- “Boots stores can be found throughout the securing theaward by amargin of 15 points ahead mitment to innovation”. UK,” agreed athird industry executive,“on major of its nearest rival, Day Lewis (see Figure 1). Each of the judges had been asked to assess high-streets, within local communities and in Boots’ average score from the 12 members theperformance over2016ofthe 10 multiple re- out-of-town retail parks. All product categories of OTC bulletin’s Industry Executive Panel tailers –Asda; Boots; Celesio’sLloydsPhar- are represented well, and in-store expertise is (see page 21) wasacommendable 8.92 when macy; Day Lewis; Phoenix’ Rowlands Phar- always available.” each judge wasasked to allocate 10 points to macy; Sainsbury’s; Superdrug; Tesco; Well The “expertise” of Boots’ staffwas also a the best of the 10 retailers in contention, nine (formerly Co-operative Pharmacy); and Wm common theme in the judges’ comments. points to the second best, eight points to the Morrison Supermarkets –using whatevercriteria “Accessibility of advice from its knowledge- third best, down to one point for the 10th best. theythought were relevant. able staffcontinues to give Boots the edge in Boots’ support of newproduct development While most of thejudgesdid not reveal their OTCretailing,”one panel member insisted, (NPD) andits readily-accessible staff werehigh- judgingcriteria,theircomments highlighted a while another judge praised the “enthusiasm” lighted by members of the Industry Executive commitment to NPD as akey measure. of the retailer’semployees. Panel, as werethe retailer’s “comprehensive”prod- Boots “givesnew achance”, noted one panel “Boots is my number-onechoice,”summed member,who insisted that Boots’ “openness up athird executive,“because it is the retailer Judges’ scores to innovation” continued to give it “the edge that continues to strive forcustomer service (from a Rank Retailer in OTCretailing”. excellence while providing accessibility to con- maximum of 120 points) Anotherjudgeagreed, highlightingthe re- sumersfrom alocation and onlineperspective.” tailer’s“commitment to makeNPD work”. Despite commending Boots’“ability to build 1Boots UK 107 “Bootsisgreat at delivering innovation with strong connections with consumers”, one panel 2Day Lewis 92 the consumer in mind,”remarked athird in- member protested that “high costs often limit 3LloydsPharmacy 79 dustry executive.“NPD has agreater chance what we can do”. The retailer also needed to 4Asda 74 of success within the market as awhole,”this improve its “speed and flexibility”, the judge judge insisted, “when there has been strong insisted, in the face of growing competition Other Nominations: collaboration with Boots.” from the grocery chains. Sainsbury’s; Superdrug; Tesco In addition to praising Boots’ approach to Such reflections were echoed by another Other Multiple Retailers: Rowlands NPD, judgesalso commendedthe retailer’sUK- judge, who observed that the grocery chains – Pharmacy; Well; Wm Morrison Supermarkets wide network of over2,500 stores. “most notably Tesco and Sainsbury’s” –were Figure1:Rankings by our IndustryExecutive “Itshigh-quality stores –with national cov- “offering consumersaviable alternative to the Panel of the UK’sleading OTCmultiple retailers in 2016 erage–offeringarange of comprehensive high-street chemist,especially in termsofcon-

20 OTC bulletin 24 March 2017 MULTIPLE RETAILERS OTC

venience of both location and opening hours”. its ability to adapt in increasingly challenging which demonstrates consistencyand commit- However, thesecompetitors still had along market conditions.” ment overalong period of time.” waytogo, the industry executive admitted. Another judge agreed: “I have been im- Some waybehind Day Lewiswithatotal of “Manysupermarkets do not always have the pressed by Day Lewis’ focus on OTCand its 79 points, butnevertheless building on its score breadth of specialist products available. The willingness to push the boundaries of what is of 75 last year,was Celesio’sLloydsPharmacy. pharmacycoverage varies widely between the possible. Broadening its focus from prescrip- “LloydsPharmacy provides comprehensive different grocery chains, and, of course, smaller tions to services and other customer-focused expert advice, stocks awide range of prod- stores do not always have on-site pharmacies.” initiativesisgreat to see.” ucts and offers good value for money,”re- While noting that the discounters –such as “A strong approach to community pharmacy, marked one panel member. Germany-based Aldi and Lidl –continued to plus its enthusiastic and committed staff, makes “LloydsPharmacyperformed well in 2016,” “compete well in terms of value for money”, Day Lewisagreat partner,” remarked athird panel insisted another industry executive,who award- this judge played down the threat posed by member,who rankedthe firm secondonlytoBoots. ed the retailer ninepoints, “largely as aresult of these firmstotheir moreestablishedsupermarket “Day Lewis continues to support the com- the availability of easily-accessible advice on rivals. “The discounters often lack the choice munity through outstanding patient services. common ailments and suitable OTCremedies.” found in dedicated pharmacychains,only carry- These are drivenbystafftraining, aclose un- Operating achain of around 1,800pharma- inglimited product lines and not representing derstanding of the local community and highly- cies, LloydsPharmacyexpanded last year its all product categories.” principledworking relationships with suppliers,” footprint in the UK by snapping up thepharmacy One pharmacymultiple that met with most commented another judge, who awarded full business of Sainsbury’s, the country’ssecond judges’approvalwas Day Lewis.Said one:“Day marks to the chain. “On anumber of occasions, largest supermarket chain (OTC bulletin,12 Lewis has aserious commitment to growing DayLewis has been among the top three com- August 2016, page 13). its OTCsales and consistently demonstrates panies forthis Award and hasjustmissedout, Continued on page 23 INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE PANEL CHRIS BELTON HEIDI GRESLE DAVID ORMOND is Sales Director is General Manager,UK is Commercial at Thornton &Ross. and Ireland Manager at at Merck Pfizer Consumer Consumer Health. Healthcare.

JUSTIN BURBAGE TOM HORNER RICHARD ROWE is Sales Director is Managing Director is Head of Professional at Bayer. at Dendron. and Pharmacy Marketing at Johnson &Johnson.

ANNETTE D’ABREO STEVE MANN OLLYTATLOW is Managing Director is Director of External is Sales Director at at Ceuta Healthcare. RegulatoryAffairs Reckitt Benckiser. at Nelsons.

DARREN FOLKER STUARTMILLS ROB YATEMAN is Sales Director is Sales Director is Managing Director at GlaxoSmithKline. at Perrigo. at The Mentholatum Company.

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 21 FOR NEW 2017 MAIL ORDER AND INTERNET PHARMACYINEUROPE 2017 REAPING THE BENEFITS OF AN OMNICHANNEL PRESENCE

AStudy of Mail Order And Internet Pharmacy In 17 European Countries Plus Key Learnings From The US And China

MailOrderandInternetPharmacyinEuropeshowshowe-commerceis reshapingthepharmacylandscape and playing a key role in the omnichannel strategies of leading healthcare retailers. TheEuropeanmailorderandInternetpharmacylandscapehascontinuedtoevolvesincethelastedition of this study in 2015, driven by the growth of mobile technologies, smartphones and the consequent changes in how consumers want to shop. Major pharmacy multiples have been using their considerable reach in consumer healthcare to develop complexomnichannelstrategiesattheexpenseof‘pureplay’onlinepharmacycompanies.Butinother markets, these entrepreneurial and disruptive firms continue to shake the foundations of traditional retailing, as the study explains.

Mail Order and Internet Pharmacy in Europe covers: Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and US.

® JAMES DUDLEY® Download study at www.james-dudley.co.uk MANAGEMENT PEOPLE OTC

Continued from page 21 Wholesalers and Retailers Meanwhile, the supermarket chain Asda –in fourth position with 74 points –also had its sup- WBApromotes to porters among thejudges,evidenced by aper- fect 10, anine and three third places in the rankings. The Walmart-subsidiary operates a chain of more than600 supermarkets,ofwhich fill marketing posts around 250 offer an in-store pharmacy. “Asda has demonstrated its commitment algreensBoots Alliance (WBA) has pro- to growing OTC,”noted one panel member, Wmoted Adam Holyk and Joe Hartsig to “through detailed ranging and promotional the roles of chief marketing officer and chief changes that have taken the category opportuni- merchandising officer respectively. ties and challenges into account.” Holyk and Hartsig will assume their new “Having come along wayinthe past 12 roles on 1April and report directly to WBA’s months, Asda is my third choice for the Best co-chief operating officer exAl Gourlay.They OTCMultiple Retailer of the Year,” remarked will replace Linda Filler,who recently stepped asecond judge. “Asda has ‘upskilled’ its buying down as the company’spresident of retail team and put more of afocus on healthcare, products and chief marketing andmerchandis- whileremaining true to its strategy of good value. ingofficer. The chain is always looking for newopportuni- Holyk is steppinginto the chiefmarketing Adam Holyk ties, always willing to listen to ideas and always officer role after twoyears as WBA’svice-pres- omnichannel at WBA’sWalgreensretail chain looking to supportbusinesses striving to grow.” identofcorporate strategy development, having in the US. Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Tesco were also previously served as Walgreens’group vice-presi- Hartsig joined WBAashead of marketing nominated for this year’sBestOTC Multiple dentfor insights,and divisionalvice-president and digital commerce for the Walgreens chain Retailer Award. of customer loyalty. in 2015, havingpreviously servedaschief mer- “Sainsbury’sdelivered decentgrowth again Meanwhile, Hartsig has been promotedfrom chandising and marketing officer for the busi- through aclear focus on itscorerange,” com- hiscurrent roleashead of merchandising and ness supplies wholesaler Essendant. OTC mentedone panel member, who awardedthe retailersecond positionbehind Superdrug. “Giving Manufacturers display to penetration-driving categories, not just volume lines,shows good long-term thinking.” Probi names finance chief Another judged added: “Sainsbury’sismy second choice as the retailer has really looked wedish probiotics specialist Probi has named Pinovabusiness. He had held the same posi- to change the dynamics of healthcare, and Iap- SJörn Andreas as its chief financialofficer, tion at the Diana Group, Probi pointed out, plaud its radical approach to ranging and pro- replacing Niklas Brandt. and had also served as director of corporate motions. Sainsbury’sdelivers what it promises, Andreas –who has served on Probi’s development at Symriseand as aconsultant for has atalented buying team and provides honest board since 2014 –joined the companyfrom the Boston Consulting Group. feedback in all situations.” his role as chief financialofficer of Symrise’s Commenting on the appointment, Peter Nähl- Superdrug –which is part of health and stedt, Probi’schief executive officer,saidthat beauty giant AS Watson –divided some of the Andreas had a“proveninternationaltrack record judges.While onepanel member observed that as achief financial officer” and in handling “com- Superdrug had“achievedoutstanding growth” plexmerger and acquisition projects”. in 2016 and remained “great to work with”, “Andreas’skillsand experienceare aper- another complained that the retailer wasa“dif- fectmatch forthe next stage of developmentat ficult” partner. Probi,”headded, “which is combining strong “Superdrug is difficulttodeal with and seems organic growth with acquisition growth.” to be obsessed with short-term funding rather Meanwhile, Brandt would remain apart of than long-term growth plans.” Probi’sleadership team, the companysaid, as However, athirdjudge disagreed with this chief information officer,with responsibility for point. “Superdrug, while cutting back on brand Jörn Andreas IT,infrastructure and investor relations. OTC choice,has been highly collaborative andcarried out good brand-buildingprogrammes with us.” Tesco waspraised by the panel for its “con- IN BRIEF sciousmove away from the buying techniques of the past”. VITAMIN SHOPPE hasannounced it The move is part of an agreement struck be- Despite these efforts, however, the UK’s is to makechanges to its board of directors. tween Vitamin Shoppe and Carlson, under which largest supermarketchain stillhad its detractors. Twonew independentdirectorswouldbeadd- the newindependentdirectorswould be “highly Onejudge commented: “Tesco seems to be ed to the board within the next twomonths, qualified”, and not acurrent or former em- under-resourced in healthcare and the experi- theUS-based natural products retailer said. One ployee, advisor,consultant or affiliate of Carl- ence of its buying team is poorcompared with would be identified by Vitamin Shoppe and the sonoraformer member of Vitamin Shoppe’s the other grocers.” OTC other by keyshareholder Carlson Capital. management team. OTC

24 March 2017 OTC bulletin 23 We focus on generics and biosimilars

GOOD Read all about it VALUE Individual in Generics bulletin subscriptions are only £935 Make better decisions faster

Published weekly

Thebest decision-makers in thegenerics industry don’t have the time to go looking for good information. They let it cometo them. They subscribe to Generics bulletin.

CHOICE OF FORMATS Generics bulletin can be accessed from: ■ desktop and laptop computers AND ■ Apple and Android tablets andsmartphones.

DESKTOP APPLE ANDROID

INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS An annual subscription comprises: ■ 46 Generics bulletin online editions –published on Fridays ■ asearchable archive of more than 180 back editions dating back over five years ■ 46 optional hard-copy print editions, delivered by airmail. Valued subscribers to OTC bulletin MULTIPLE &CORPORATE SUBSCRIPTIONS get a 20% discount off a Discounts are available for multi-user subscriptions for subscription to Generics bulletin colleagues at the same location. Corporate Subscriptions provide location-, country- or Researched and written by generics and biosimilars company-wide access to Generics bulletin. specialists from aglobal industry perspective Take out your own subscription TODAY at www.Generics-bulletin.com or for Corporate Subscriptions contact: [email protected]

Bulletin Publishing Group, OTC Publications Ltd, 4 Poplar Road, Dorridge, Solihull B93 8DB, UK. (Tel:+44 (0)1564 777550; Fax:+44 (0)1564 777524). Registered in England No. 2765878. VAT GB 608 0432 69