Trademarks registered and published for opposition with USPTO in Class 3 – cosmetics and cleaning Preps, and Class 5 –pharmaceuticals. Marks for vitamin, mineral and supplement products also are registered or published for opposition in both Class 3 and Class 5.

Perrigo relaunches OTC nasal sprays under single 'Beco' brand supported by £1.7m multimedia marketing campaign.

Germany's Stada is on the look out for consumer health acquisitions globally that can help it reach its ambition to grow faster than the market in 2019. The firm's new private-equity owners are backing CEO Peter Goldschmidt's plan to take the Branded Products division to the next level.

Speakers from the EMA and European Commission, as well as Pfizer and HRA Pharma, debated at the AESGP's Regulatory Conference the ongoing digital transformation of the European consumer healthcare market, the latest developments in the implementation of the new medical devices regulations, and the best ways to encourage Rx-to-OTC switching across the EU.

Poland's ministry of health is calling for codeine, dextromethorphan and pseudoephedrine to be reverse-switched from OTC to prescription status in response to abuse of the drugs by adolescents. At the same time, an academic paper argues Ireland should restrict codeine to prescription-only sale to combat an addiction epidemic "verging on eruption."

Aspirin should be used very selectively in the primary prevention of artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to new guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. While certain higher-risk adults may benefit from regular, preventative aspirin use, those over the age of 70, and any at increased risk of bleeding, should explore lifestyle changes, the groups say.

Recent statements from Cosmetic Ingredient Review leadership and Expert Panel members affirming the safety of parabens, while their latest review of the ingredients is ongoing, undermine the program’s credibility, according to NGO Women’s Voices for the Earth. CIR Director Bart Heldreth responds.

Women’s Voices for the Earth says Prestige Brands has “quietly reformulated” Summer’s Eve products to eliminate three colorants that should not be in feminine washes, based on FDA regulations and the realities of consumer practices and women’s anatomy. Now the NGO is considering next steps.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., is taking another swing at legislation to require cancer warnings on talc-containing cosmetics marketed to children if they have not been determined asbestos-free via transmission electron microscopy to FDA’s satisfaction.

The mega-retailer has been quietly growing its selection of private-label and Amazon-exclusive brands, recently adding Fast Beauty Co., which targets affordable, fast-acting masks to consumers on the go.

Personal-care and cosmetic product trademark filings compiled from the Official Gazette of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Class 3 – Cosmetics and Cleaning Preps.

P&G’s introduction of Waterless hair care in South Africa, where water is a precious commodity, marks the first new retail hair-care brand for the firm in four years. Meanwhile, liquid-free DS3 shampoo, body wash and other personal-care swatches, available now for pre-order, support P&G’s sustainability goals while representing attractive cost efficiencies.

Trademarks registered and published for opposition with USPTO in Class 3 – cosmetics and cleaning Preps, and Class 5 –pharmaceuticals. Marks for vitamin, mineral and supplement products also are registered or published for opposition in both Class 3 and Class 5.

FDA should formalize its internal policy on CBD enforcement or create a pathway to make it compliant for use in supplements, says NPA President Daniel Fabricant. NPA and PCPC submitted comments on FDA request for input on agency's action at ongoing United Nations meeting on drug policy.

FDA deemed 469 homeopathic remedies manufactured by King Bio – marketed as Dr. King’s: Natural Medicine, Aquaflora, SafeCareRx and Safecare bands – and recalled since July as class I, indicating the agency considers that a violative product poses reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death. Kingston Pharma recalls one lot of DG/health Naturals baby Cough Syrup + Mucus potentially contaminated and Ata Int.'s BlueFusion product marketed as a dietary supplement contains ED ingredients and other drugs.

FDA advised Hanna’s Herb Shop to discontinue drug claims for more than a dozen Kroeger herbal supplements, including “decrease dementia” or tackle “hypertension.” Separately, agency sets a date for its “Responsible Innovation” meeting for regulating the vitamin, mineral and supplement industry.

"You begin to see FDA telegraphing that this is important. That was lacking in the past two budgets," said Mike Greene, Council for Responsible Nutrition's chief congressional liaison. White House's budget request recommends $67m increase from FY 2019 to $1.4bn for FDA's food industry programs in CFSAN, which includes the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs, and for the Office of Regulatory Affairs' related field activities.

Germany's BPI is warning consumers to be wary of unapproved health claims made by botanical foods and supplements.

While Rx drug pricing is under attack by Congress, White House and consumer and public health advocacy groups, OTC drugs' value isn't gaining a higher profile. "Our health care system undervalues the contribution of our industry's products," says CHPA chief Scott Melville. Trade group conducts “Value of OTC Medicines" study for reasons including raising the profile of consumer health products in the US health care system.

Romanian self-care industry association, RASCI, provides HBW Insight with an exclusive viewpoint on the country's OTC market in 2018. 

 

Common thread between the manufacturers and retail chain operators offering their own and other brands extends to relatively recent executive suite shakeups following extended stretches of declining sales growth. GNC reported nearly $70m net income for 2018 after two years of net losses and Vitamin Shoppe trimmed its loss by more than $200m from 2017 to $12.1m.