Strategy

A round-up of the latest appointments in Europe's consumer health industry: Dr Reddy's hires UK head; Mayoly names CEE lead; NèreS adds director.

Control of Sanofi Consumer Healthcare – recently rebranded as Opella – may soon pass to US private-equity firm CD&R but the French firm looks set to retain a substantial stake in a business which has some big Rx-to-OTC switches in the pipeline.

UK pharma also reaches agreement in principle, subject to DoJ approval, to pay $70m to resolve a whistleblower complaint filed by Valisure, the testing lab which in 2019 raised concerns about a potential link between the use of drugs containing ranitidine, a histamine-2 blocker, and cancer.

A leading provider of over-the-counter health and wellbeing products in the DACH region will be created through the merger of Merz Lifecare and Windstar Medical.

Regenerative Processing replaces nozzle to prevent backflow for its Regener-Eyes drops but FDA warning states numerous questions about sterility at the firm’s plant and about its procedures and systems for preventing microbial contamination.

In addition to its recently established Precision Health division, Bayer Consumer Health is using artificial intelligence to save time on routine tasks and to manage supply and demand, the firm’s head of digital transformation and IT, Cristina Nitulescu, tells HBW Insight.

After launching Retaine MGD Advanced, OcuSoft says a release by Bruder Healthcare referenced Retaine MGD trademark and statements from a previous OcuSoft announcement about the original product attributed to an optometrist. B+L, Rohto brand and homeopathic firm Relief Products also make US OTC eye care space moves.

Maxwellia is inviting 100 investors to contribute to the “development of new healthcare solutions that will benefit millions, while also playing a role in shaping the future of self-care.”

Leadership changes at Norgine, IPHA and Orifarm feature in this week's round-up of European consumer health people news.

Joint venture business which markets Haleon's OTC drug brands in China will soon be 88% owned by the UK-based firm.

Mucinex Sinus saline nasal spray is designed to treat sinus-related symptoms as “first-ever drug-free saline product” with a dual nozzle offering two spray settings, marketer Reckitt-Benckiser says.

Orifarm has announced details of a strategic investment from Carlyle Global Credit, which the Danish firm says will “strengthen Orifarm’s ongoing expansion, both organic and inorganic.”

Bayer’s Midol and nonprofit Period. provide PeriodTalk campaign for awareness of the gaps in period education; “The M Factor” film coming day before World Menopause Day in October; Exeltis USA’s Blues Away provides postpartum mood support; and Doctor's Best Women's Collection includes menopause, sleep, digestive, heart and hair/skin/nails support products.

In this episode of HBW Insight's Over The Counter podcast, we connect with Neil D’Souza, CEO of Makersite GmbH, a data software company based in Stuttgart, Germany that offers “next generation” product data management tools that help personal care and other industries manage product sustainability, cost and compliance.

Sanofi CHC names new Italy country manager; Uriach appoints head of France & Belgium; EFSA announces leadership of Scientific Committee.

“We're significantly investing more in reaching more consumers, but we're doing it in a very different way,” says CGO Charmaine England. Brands may be “iconic,” but on their own they’re not driving sales growth, says CEO Thibaut Mongon.

Haleon CEO Brian McNamara and Bayer Consumer Health president Julio Triana independently tell the Barclays Consumer Conference that their respective firms are unlikely to secure any transformational mergers or acquisitions in the medium term. Both companies are prioritizing bolt-on acquisitions for the next few years.

HBW Insight catches up with Kenvue's Manoj Raghunandanan, who recently switched roles from global head of self care & consumer experience organization to area managing director for Northern Europe. "If I was playing tennis in my old role, I'm playing rugby in my new one. It’s a new game with new rules, and there's a lot happening all around you," he explains in this exclusive interview. Having found his feet, Raghunandanan is now pushing forward regionally with the innovation and technology infrastructure that he had a hand in building. 

Key challenges facing companies working to implement the European Sustainability Reporting Standards have been identified by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. Onur Durmus, Partner at sustainability consultancy ERM, shares his thoughts on EFRAG’s findings and offers takeaways for firms that will be subject to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

A round-up of the latest European health & wellness people moves: Sanofi CHC appoints chief sustainability officer; Bayer Consumer names new Austria country lead; Cooper Consumer Health hires regulatory director for Italy.