Policy & Regulation
The EU’s health nominee may not be as controversial as the recent US one, but the candidate being grilled has proved the least popular of the commissioner nominations with MEPs
Canada’s shortage of children’s analgesic/antipyretic OTCs in 2022 as COVID-19 and seasonal flu virus combined to drive stockpiling by consumers. Some poison control centers and hospitals offered recommendations about modifying adult doses to pediatric use.
OTC antifungal fluconazole will soon only be available with a doctor's prescription in Norway.
Over five years, the cost of the European Commission's proposal could exceed a total €50bn, finds a study by IQVIA commissioned by the AESGP.
Business
Winners across 12 categories were announced at the OTC Marketing Awards 2024 on 21 November, with Opella taking the top prize as OTC Company of the Year.
23andMe cut 40% of its workforce and will discontinue its therapeutic program as part of ongoing restructuring. This comes after a data breach, series of layoffs and the resignation of its board members.
A slowdown in China and the US, along with signs of a weaker cough & cold season in the latter, has led Bayer Consumer Health to lower its full-year sales guidance.
Finland is the latest market launch for OTC erectile dysfunction treatment Eroxon. High demand for the product in other countries, such as Norway, helped drive up Navamedic's consumer health sales in the first nine months of 2024.
Innovation & IP
Winners across 12 categories were announced at the OTC Marketing Awards 2024 on 21 November, with Opella taking the top prize as OTC Company of the Year.
Consumers in Denmark no longer need a prescription to buy opioid antagonist naloxone as the country looks to tackle the growing issue of overdose.
Bayer Consumer Health is replacing mixed material PVC blister packs with monomaterial PET blisters beginning with Aleve in the Netherlands. HBW Insight speaks to vice president and global head of design, packaging, product experience and sustainability, Chris Padain, about the "evolutionary" strategy behind the move, the complexities of choosing the right material for the right product, and the importance of industry cross-collaboration via associations like GSCF.
Reckitt backs up prediction for strong sales during current quarter with advertising featuring a beauty queen and a line extension for Mucinex, one its strongest US consumer health product lines.
Rx-to-OTC Switch
OTC antifungal fluconazole will soon only be available with a doctor's prescription in Norway.
Consumers in Denmark no longer need a prescription to buy opioid antagonist naloxone as the country looks to tackle the growing issue of overdose.
FDA’s OTC office director details a 2023 guidance as opening doors for NRT innovation at recent public meeting, but researchers and an industry executive note the most recent approval in the US for an innovative NRT was more than 20 years ago and say FDA isn’t allowing sufficient flexibility for approvals of new products or indications other than cessation related to quitting smoking.
Even at conservative estimates, switching an additional 97 molecules could save about €200m, according to France's consumer health industry association.