Chain Drug Review, July 9, 2018

52 Chain Drug Review July 9 2018 HEALTH PERSONAL CARE CARE REPORT REPORT ALLERGY TOPIC Future allergy seasons will be nothing to sneeze at NEW YORK It appears that allergy season will continue to grow in severity in the future with climate change playing a major role in the worsening seasons health experts say We have higher temperatures and increasing levels of carbon dioxide Dr Jeffrey Demain an allergist and immunologist who is part of the Allergy Asthma Immunology Center of Alaska said during a recent meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology AAAAI In those environments studies have been done looking at what this does for pollen because pollens are critical when it comes to allergy symptoms as well as the development of allergy he explained Increasing carbon dioxide levels lead to increased levels of the proteins in pollen that cause allergies according to Demain When you look at a pollen grain there are certain proteins that cause the allergy they are the allergenic peptides he said Its been shown that in rising carbon dioxide the allergenic peptide of each pollen grain goes up Carbon dioxide levels have also been shown to increase the amount of biomass and pollen production by a plant noted Demain Sneezing coughing congestion and red eyes are common sights not just in spring but also in fall and summer as millions of people are affected by seasonal allergies He pointed out that the allergy seasons throughout the year are getting longer as much as 27 days longer than they were even seven to 10 years ago increasing the opportunity for exposure to allergies After one of the worst cold and flu seasons in years allergy season is offering no relief to sneezing consumers Charlie Gage senior manager of business intelligence at Inmar said there is a big shift occurring in the nasal spray category from fast acting decongestants down 25 in May to corticosteroids up 27 in May Even though they are formulated to do completely different things and are meant to be used in totally different ways it appears that corticosteroid nasal sprays are cannibalizing sales of traditional fast acting decongestants like Afrin This should signal to marketers a real need to better educate shoppers and those that do it right will ultimately succeed He added that April and May are historically almost the same and the highest months of the year for the category April was very soft down 175 but a strong May up 10 netted sales out to down 35 for the period One of the leaders in this area is Flonase from GlaxoSmithKine PLC Last year GSK rolled out Flonase Sensimist an over thecounter treatment for symptoms associated with seasonal and perennial allergies With unique MistPro technology Flonase Sensimist is said to deliver a fine gentle yet powerful mist spray providing nondrowsy 24 hour relief of allergy symptoms such as itchy watery eyes nasal congestion runny or itchy nose and sneezing Unlike most O T C allergy pills Flonase Sensimist helps block six key inflammatory substances Further Flonase Sensimist has been found to be 40 stronger than a leading nondrowsy allergy pill the company stated Ben Knopke assistant marketing manager at B F Ascher Co said that millions of adults and children in the United States suffer from nasal allergies Increases in allergy occurrences among the population and consumers seeking out affordable first line overthe counter treatments are trends continuing to drive the category He explained that allergy seasons fluctuate in timing severity and duration from year to year The 2018 allergy season has been a busy one and sales of the Ayr brand have mirrored the activity of the season Studies have shown that washing the nasal cavity with a saline solution can help reduce the amount of discomfort related to sinus problems Nasal washing with Ayr Saline Nasal Mist is a safe effective first line treatment for nasal allergies Knopke noted He said the drug channel is key to getting the word out to the consumer Full understanding of our customers needs allows us to work in unison with retailers across the drug channel to ensure that quality health care products like Ayr Saline Nasal Mist and Ayr Saline Nasal Gel are made readily available to the market Knopke added that social media is also helping in educating the consumer Connecting through social media channels like our Ayr Saline Solutions Facebook page is essential to creating brand awareness and developing mutually beneficial ongoing relationships with our customer base Nate Jones chief executive officer of Xlear concurred that as the weather patterns change the allergy seasons are getting longer This does play a small part in the increase in allergies What plays a larger part is the continued overprescribing and use and abuse of overthe counter antihistamines and decongestants You can see a direct correlation between the increase in allergies asthma and other upper respiratory issues with the Food and Drug Administration allowing these types of products to be O T C You can read all of these studies in the book No More Allergies Asthma or Sinus Infections by Dr Alonzo Jones He said that the most common thing that he hears from physicians while he is attending medical conventions is that they are actively looking for alternatives to the O T C drugs because they are seeing that people are abusing them and becoming addicted to them Using antihistamines and decongestants and even simple saline solutions on a regular basis actually dries out your upper airway This makes it so that the air you are breathing is not getting filtered moisturized or warmed before it goes to your lungs Using Xlear nasal spray with xylitol actually helps to keep your nose clean and moist so it continues to clean the air The xylitol allows you to have a hypertonic solution that will truly help clean your nose and help it function better not just a chemical that will stop your body from producing mucous Another player in the market is Dr Hanas Nasopure which the company stated has the most comfortable nose wash in the world The products ergonomic design allows the user to stand straight up and look forward resulting in a much more comfortable experience Nasopure is said to be the only nasal wash for age 2 and over and it helps manage and relieve symptoms associated with allergies cold flu sinusitis and rhinitis Nasal Sprays Drops Inhalers TOTAL DOLLAR SALES 3274 mil 06 DRUG STORES 1489 mil 16 LEADING BRANDS Market share Dollar sales 000 Dollar sales change Private Label 265 39506 16 Flonase 222 3044 02 Flonase Sensimist 87 12911 03 Nasacort 63 9372 08 Neilmed Sinus Rinse 41 6239 01 Afrin 40 5914 03 Afrin No Drip 40 5877 03 Zicam 24 3580 02 Arm Hammer Simply Saline 24 3557 01 Vicks Sinex Severe 14 205 04 TOTAL UNIT SALES 327 mil 1 DRUG STORES 118 mil 44 LEADING BRANDS Avg price per unit Unit sales 000 Unit sales change Private Label 994 3975 21 Flonase 2134 1548 34 Flonase Sensimist 2189 590 89 Nasacort 2025 463 166 Neilmed Sinus Rinse 1618 386 61 Afrin 910 650 108 Afrin No Drip 896 656 33 Zicam 1397 256 129 Arm Hammer Simply Saline 964 369 33 Vicks Sinex Severe 1069 192 244 Total of drug stores supermarkets discount stores military commissaries and selected club and dollar stores In drug stores only Source IRI For the 12 weeks ended May 20 2018 Antihistamines gain on sprays in market share NEW YORK While nasal sprays are a major weapon in the war against seasonal allergies antihistamines are gaining ground Intranasal steroid sprays have driven growth in the category in both the adult and pediatric segments and will continue to be an important part of the category said Carolyn Nagle external communications specialist at Bayer However recent growth of nasal sprays has slowed considerably and antihistamines and pseudoephedrine products continue to be important segments of the overall category Nagle noted that Bayer makes use of data to predict seasonality better both in terms of geography where and timing when the season is coming The drug channel continues to work with brands such as Claritin to ensure they are reaching consumers with the right products at the right time This is especially critical for a category like allergy which is seasonal but can start at different times from year to year depending on the weather and the region Nagle pointed out that Claritin has a variety of allergy products that provide nondrowsy relief for consumers worst allergy symptoms with products for the family Claritin D combines a powerful decongestant with an antihistamine Claritin provides 24 hour nondrowsy relief of allergy symptoms and is available in tablets liquid gels and reditabs and Childrens Claritin comes in child friendly chewable and liquid forms