THOMPSON MEDICAL ASPERCREME "ANALGESIC CREME RUB" LABEL

THOMPSON MEDICAL ASPERCREME "ANALGESIC CREME RUB" LABEL implies aspirin-like claims, Pfizer is contending in a lawsuit against Thompson Medical filed Oct. 28 in New York Federal Court, southern district. "Thompson well knows that its repeated description of Aspercreme as an 'Analgesic Greme Rub' communicates to consumers the message that Aspercreme provides an aspirin-like analgesic benefit," Pfizer stated. Pfizer markets the Ben-Gay line of topical analgesics. Although Thompson Medical repackaged and relabeled in 1984 Aspercreme to comply with an FTC order that required the company to delete an "arthritis relief" claim and to add a disclaimer that Aspercreme does not contain aspirin, Pfizer asserted that "the overall impression created by the new packaging continues to be that Aspercreme is an aspirin-like product or provides aspirin-like benefits." Aspercreme's new packaging, Pfizer noted, states that the product is: "For temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with arthritis." Pfizer pointed out that Aspercreme's active ingredient is trolamine salicylate, which is classified as a Category III OTC ingredient. Since 1982, Thompson Med has advertised Sportscreme, which also contains trolamine salicylate, as being "better or preferred over Ben-Gay because it is as effective as Ben-Gay in relieving aches and pain but does not have Ben-Gay's supposedly 'embarrassing odor,'" the Pfizer complaint states. In the suit, Pfizer is requesting that Thompson Med be enjoined from making such claims in the packaging, labeling or advertising for Aspercreme. Pfizer maintains that it has "lost in excess of $10 mil. in sales of its Ben-Gay products" because of the claims for Sportscreme. The firm also contends that Thompson Med's claims for Aspercreme have caused a loss of over $30 mil. in sales of the Ben-Gay product line. Neither firm would break down annual sales for their respective products. In the suit, Pfizer states that since 1979 sales of Aspercreme have been in excess of $100 mil. Based on Pfizer's fiqure, annual sales for Aspercreme are estimated to be in the $15-20 mil. range. Aspercreme Hot, introduced by Thompson Med in August, contains the same active ingredients, methyl salicylate and menthol, as Ben-Gay, according to Pfizer. The reformulation, Pfizer argues, is "an admission by Thompson Med that the traditional formulation of Aspercreme does not entitle it to make any arthritis claim." Pfizer also requests that Thompson Med be enjoined from further use of the Aspercreme name in any packaging, labeling, or advertising for Aspercreme products, because the name implies that the product is an "aspirin-like analgesic." A date for the hearing of the case has not yet been set. In a prepared statement, Thompson Med said it "intend[s] to defend the suit vigorously." Thompson Med said it has "full confidence in the effectiveness of our products and the truthfulness of our advertising [and] believe that our position will be ultimately upheld by the courts and the consuming public." Thompson Med asserted that "consumers and pharmacists have increasingly shown a preference for the Aspercreme formula, and we believe that litigation is not an appropriate response to this. Litigation between competitors should be used as a last resort, not a first resort." Thompson Med is being represented by the New York law firm Elliot, Lauer, Curtiss-Mallet, Prevost, Colt, & Mosle. Thompson Med's Chairman and CEO S. Daniel Abraham heads the management group that recently proposed a $15 per share leveraged buyout of the firm's 7.5 mil. outstanding shares. The Abrahams group currently controls 70% of Thompson Med ("The Pink Sheet" Nov. 2, "In Brief").