Category Archives: Healthcare

Healthcare and Wellness

Evolving Industry: Consumer Healthcare Categories Pivot Toward Wellness

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The consumer self-care industry is shifting in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both consumers and retailers focusing on wellness. 

According to the University of California, Davis, “Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness; it is a dynamic process of change and growth. It is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Continue reading→

Healthcare KlinePULSE Immune Support

Immune Support Has Been Accelerated by the Pandemic

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While prevention and boosting immunity have always been important tools in self–care, since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the United States in March 2020, consumers have wholeheartedly embraced using various vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other products to ward off illness and help support their immune systems.  Immune support products can span multiple product types but typically include one or more of the following: 
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Sanofi Consumer Healthcare

Radical Transformation on the Horizon for Sanofi

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Earlier this month, Sanofi announced a new strategic vision for its Consumer Healthcare division.  The new head of the division, Julie Van Ongevalle, shared that the company will focus on core brands and categories while pursuing first-in-class Rx-to-OTC switches in the ED and flu categories in the United States. Key components to future growth of Sanofi’s OTC business in the United States are novel Rx-to-OTC switches. The company is entrenched in its work to develop nonprescription versions of Cialis for erectile dysfunction and Tamiflu influenza medication in the States. As of December 2020, Sanofi has more than 16 clinical studies either complete or underway to support applications for OTC marketing of these two medications. Actual–use trials to understand how consumers behave and interact with these medicines will be key factors in the success of the switches. These brands have the potential to be blockbusters, as there are currently no medications for either condition available without a prescription in the United States. Detailed analyses of both of these medications and the likelihood and timing of approval and sales forecasts are included in Kline’s Rx-to-OTC Switch Forecasts study.   Continue reading→

Opportunities for Growth in Analgesics

Recent Growth Drivers in Analgesics

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In what is normally a slow–growing category in the 0.5%-3.0% range for year–over–year performance, the internal analgesics category witnessed much stronger–than–average growth rates in 2020. Consumers stocked up on pain relievers and fever reducers to be prepared for coronavirus. The overall internal analgesics category witnessed sales growth of more than 6.0%, with the Tylenol brand up nearly 40% and Motrin IB (both by Johnson & Johnson) up nearly 100% compared to 2019 sales. Continue reading→

Rx-to-OTC USA

Switch Sponsors Weigh Business Opportunities Against Regulatory Risk

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In 2020, the U.S. market saw four new brands previously sold as prescription drugs enter the nonprescription market: 

  • Pataday allergy eye drops 
  • Voltaren Arthritis Pain topical NSAID 
  • Advil Dual Action ibuprofen and acetaminophen pain reliever 
  • Sklice lice treatment 

The new switch approvals have signaled a willingness on the part of regulators to be less conservative when it comes to OTC access to these medicines.  Nasal steroid switches, like Flonase and Rhinocort, along with the topical NSAID Voltaren Arthritis Pain and Sklice lice shampoo, are all in categories where switch activity was curtailed in the not-so-distant past due to concerns over systemic absorption of topically applied medicines. For in-depth profiles of recently approved FDA switches, subscribe to the all-new KlinePULSE Consumer Healthcare Industry Trends service. Continue reading→

Healthcare Best of 2020

Evolving Consumer Healthcare Market Research in 2020

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As 2020 concludes, we are reflecting on the priority of health and safety, and how drastically different our everyday lives are compared to just eight months ago.  We have seen major shifts toward the importance of immunity, with less emphasis on treatment of symptoms and more focus on prevention.  We have a new perspective on the evolving role consumer healthcare products play in keeping us healthy.  To help you put these major trends into perspective, below is a summary of our market studies and whitepapers that were published throughout the year. Continue reading→

top trend rising from COVID 19

A Trend a Day This December — Enjoy Kline’s 2020 Countdown Calendar

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During 2020, virtually every industry and every aspect of how we live, work, and communicate was thrown into disarray due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity to respond to the global crisis with tech-savvy, relevant, and timely solutions was a catalyst that sparked the rapid development and implementation of evolutionary trends on a scale we’ve never seen before.

With 2020 almost over, we want to part with it on a positive note by reflecting on these progressive, dynamic trends and how they will come together to help us “rebuild better” post-COVID-19.Continue reading→

Recent Rx-to-OTC Switches in the U.S.

Five Newly Approved Switches Hit the U.S. Market

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The U.S. FDA approved five new branded Rx-to-OTC switches in 2020, including eye drops, an external analgesic, and a lice treatment. In addition, private-label companies such as Perrigo and Mylan gained approval for store brand versions of Voltaren Arthritis Pain Gel, Prevacid 24HR proton pump inhibitor, and Nicorette smoking cessation gum this year. These approvals come after a lull in switch activity during the past two years.  Continue reading→

Will Japan and Europe Switch Activity Impact the U.S. Market?

Embracing Rx-to-OTC Switch: Japan and Europe foster access to nonprescription medications, but will that have an impact on the United States market?

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Recently, in Europe and Japan there have been increased Rx-to-OTC switch approvals and an environment fostering switch. The OTC men’s health category is growing in Europe, with the switch approval of Recordati’s Fortacin (lidocaine 7.5mg/prilocaine 2.5 mg) spray for premature ejaculation, via the centralized switch procedure through the European Medicines Agency. This drug marks the fifth medicine approved for switch through this centralized regulatory body, and it is expected to be launched throughout the EU on a nonprescription basis by early 2021. 

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