Europe
HBW Insight catches up with UK OTC industry association CEO Michelle Riddalls to talk about digital self-care and the unrealized promise of Brexit - part 2.
Engaging with EU member state legislators, stressing the impact of national EPR systems on the accessibility, availability, and affordability of medicines, reformulating products to reduce their financial contribution, and lobbying for expanding the scope of EPR schemes to include other polluting industries are all ways that the European consumer health industry can try and influence the way that the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is transposed into national legislation, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran explains.
France's food safety regulator ANSES is proposing a reproductive toxicity category 1B classification for CBD under the EU's CLP regulation, which would mean an effective ban on CBD in cosmetics and foods. However, French hemp industry association UIVEC hopes that new evidence coming out of a European Commission review will put the issue to bed before it gets that far.
Eleat's acquisition encompasses Clasado's Bimuno finished supplement product line and customer base, but not its Bimuno GOS proprietary galactooligosaccharide prebiotic ingredient.
Speaking at a recent AESGP webinar, sustainability expert Onur Durmus called the the European Commission’s “Omnibus” proposals - designed to simplify ESG reporting rules and recently supported by EU Parliament - a “positive development” for the European consumer health industry.
While uncertainty might reign in the UK consumer health market - which grew by by 8% to £4.1bn ($5.3bn) in 2024 - “opportunity is everywhere” according to NielsenIQ health and beauty insights manager Alex Heffernan.
HBW Insight catches up with PAGB CEO Michelle Riddalls to chat about the association's new five year plan. Riddalls also reflects on the successes of the last five years, including relaunching the UK Reclassification Alliance, which has published a list of Rx-to-OTC switches the government would like to see applications for. Part one of two.
Two AESGP papers reviewing the evidence for AMR risk associated with a range of OTC antifungals and antivirals conclude there is litte to no risk associated with the responsible self-care use of such medicines.
HBW Insight speaks to AESGP director general Jurate Švarcaite about what's on the agenda for the upcoming 61st AESGP Annual Meeting, which will take place in Warsaw, Poland, between 2-4 June. Highlights include the role of prevention in self-care, discussions about how regulators will ensure the competitiveness of European industry on the world stage and incoming changes to sustainability legislation.
“Overall, no unexpected/new data or findings” were presented to Germany's Expert Committee for Prescription in the most recent Rx-to-OTC switch application for sildenafil (25mg and 50mg), according to medicines regulator BfArM, resulting in a third rejection in three years.
“Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility. It is unfair to expect only two sectors to fund wastewater treatment modernization and operation,” argues AESGP director general Jurate Švarcaite.
Like many European firms, Stada Arzneimittel's 2024 earnings were held back by a soft cough, cold and flu season. However, key launches in its home market Germany and in the Middle East offset this impact and led to 3% organic growth for Stada's Consumer Healthcare business.
Maxwellia's “bold, honest, and completely unfiltered” campaign for Evana menstrual health brand tells the story of a woman dealing with the realities of a heavy period, showing “real blood, real leaks.”
HBW Insight catches up with Maxwellia CEO Anna Maxwell to discuss her company's journey so far, and what she sees as the opportunities for Rx-to-OTC switch in UK women's health and beyond.
Pirilieve Hayfever Relief Tablets contain 120mg fexofenadine hydrochloride, which the firm notes is an active ingredient that was “previously only available behind pharmacy counters.”
Advercheck managing director James Walmsley talks to HBW Insight about the challenges facing consumer health companies today as they move away from the prescription medicines sector and its pipeline of switchable ingredients towards self-care and prevention.
Almost two thirds (62%) of respondents to an online survey said they would rather buy non-prescription medicines in a local pharmacy than via a mail-order pharmacy, Pharma Deutschland reports.
Voltarol One A Day Muscle Pain Relief Medicated Plaster provides up to 24 hours relief from pain and inflammation, according to manufacturer Haleon.
HBW Insight speaks to AdverCheck managing director James Walmsley about the rise of direct-to-consumer prescription drugs marketing in the UK, and its impact on the consumer healthcare industry.
Energy, immunity and women's health supplements were in particular demand in 2024, according to French self-care industry association NèreS.