Angelini Sets Up In Germany As It Unveils ThermaCare Plans
Executive Summary
Angelini is looking to take its recently-acquired ThermaCare brand to the next level by establishing a direct base in Germany to market the product and through a new distribution deal with Norway's Navamedic.
Angelini SPA has unveiled initial plans to grow its ThermaCare brand after closing its acquisition of the global rights, excluding North America, to the OTC pain-relief line from GSK Consumer Healthcare.
Looking to hit the ground running, the Italian company has signed a distribution deal for ThermaCare covering the Netherlands and the Nordic region, and separately will establish a direct presence in Germany for the first time to market the brand. Annoucing the acquisition of ThermaCare last month, Angelini described the brand as a “coveted and successful” consumer health product. (Also see "GSK Divests ThermaCare To Angelini" - HBW Insight, 10 Mar, 2020.)
Angelini Pharma has granted Norway’s Navamedic the rights to distribute ThermaCare in the Dutch and Nordic markets. Under the terms of the deal, Oslo-based Navamedic will take over and accelerate marketing, sales and distribution of ThermaCare in the specified markets from July 2020. The agreement has a duration of eight years, with options to extend.
Commenting on the deal, Angelini Pharma’s CEO Pierluigi Antonelli said it was vital for the company to find the right partners for ThermaCare to help it realize its ambition “to strengthen our leadership in Consumer Health and to further grow in Europe.”
“I trust that Navamedic will boost the expansion of the ThermaCare brand in the north of Europe,” Antonelli added.
Navamedic’s CEO Kathrine Gamborg Andreassen said gaining the rights to distribute ThermaCare would strengthen the company’s arm in the consumer health market, “where we see a great potential in developing products in important categories such as pain treatment.”
“The agreement also contributes to building our position in the Netherlands, which is an important part of our growth strategy,” she noted.
Navamedic currently markets a range of consumer health products in the Nordics and the Benelux region, including the Alforex probiotic IBS treatment and the NYDA head-lice line.
Direct Presence In Germany
Meanwhile, to help grow ThermaCare in Germany, Angelini said it planned to open a new affiliate in the country – located in Munich – in June 2020. Since closing the deal, Angelini has taken on a number of former GSK/Pfizer colleagues based in Germany.
Germany has grown in importance for Angelini since the firm acquired from Sanofi last year the BoxaGrippal (ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine) cold and flu brand and the Heumann range of medicinal teas. (Also see "Sanofi Offloads Two German OTC Brands, New CEO Prepares To Make Mark" - HBW Insight, 4 Sep, 2019.)
Expanding on Angelini’s global plans for ThermaCare, Antonelli said the firm was fully committed to capturing the brand’s “untapped potential.”
“[We] will invest significantly more to fuel the brand’s growth in all current geographies with new launches,” Antonelli explained, “while also assessing the opportunity to expand it in new territories.”
“We are in for the long term,” he insisted, “deploying a 10-year brand strategy by leveraging our expertise in consumer health products life-cycle management. Moreover, we will exploit the proven efficacy of ThermaCare products based on the supporting scientific evidence.”
The ThermaCare range comprises HeatWraps for a variety of conditions – including back, neck, muscle, menstrual and joint pain – as well as an Ultra Pain Relieving Cream. The HeatWraps contain activated charcoal, iron powder, sodium chloride, sodium thiosulfate and water, while the cream's ingredients are camphor, capsicum oleoresin, menthol and methyl salicylate.