I was curious how OTC sales have been doing in the past few years.
OTC Sales by Category -- 2007-2010
| OTC Category |
2007
(in millions) |
2008
(in millions) |
2009
(in millions) |
2010
(in millions) |
| Acne Remedies |
$332 |
$338 |
$339 |
$350 |
| Analgesics, External |
$315 |
$318 |
$305 |
$313 |
| Analgesics, Internal (includes other pain products) |
$2,424 |
$2,451 |
$2,492 |
$2,341 |
| Antidiarrheals |
$176 |
$169 |
$166 |
$163 |
| Anti-Smoking Products |
$507 |
$493 |
$494 |
$485 |
| Cough/Cold and Related |
$3,662 |
$4,083 |
$4,207 |
$4,054 |
| Eye Care |
$441 |
$459 |
$472 |
$500 |
| First Aid |
$624 |
$645 |
$650 |
$675 |
| Foot Care |
$357 |
$349 |
$336 |
$336 |
| Heartburn (includes anti-gas) |
$1,268 |
$1,242 |
$1,270 |
$1,386 |
| Laxatives |
$758 |
$807 |
$822 |
$832 |
| Lip Remedies |
$403 |
$417 |
$407 |
$419 |
| Oral Antiseptics and Rinses |
$728 |
$744 |
$731 |
$722 |
| Sunscreens and Blocks |
$414 |
$477 |
$499 |
$550 |
| Toothpaste |
$1,246 |
$1,251 |
$1,268 |
$1,288 |
| All Others |
$2,394 |
$2,515 |
$2,525 |
$2,557 |
Source: The Nielsen Company (total U.S. - food, drug, and mass, excluding Wal-Mart)
Sales figures are approximate for 52 weeks ending the Saturday prior to January 1 of a given year.
Sales are in millions of U.S. dollars. A few categories include a combination of OTC medicines as well as health-related products which are not classified as medicines by the Food and Drug Administration
Or, for those of you who prefer visual data:
So basically OTC saies have been relatively flat. And with so many blockbuster drugs either off or about to lose their patents -- including Seroquel, manufactured by AstraZeneca, lost its marketing exclusivity on March 26; Forest Laboratories' Lexapro, which had a patent that expired on March 14, 2012; Plavix, discovered by French pharmaceutical Sanofi-Aventis and was co-developed with Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose patent expires May 17; Merck's Singular, which is set to expire in August; and Actos, from Japan's Takeda. It's patent expired in January 2011 but the generic version will only hit shelves this August -- you can see who phama companies would like more drugs to move to the front of store shelves.
The insurance ramifications of changing drugs to OTC status are huge in two distinct areas:
First, depending on one's prescription drug plan and co-pay, it can be a LOT cheaper to buy a drug via prescription than over the counter. I find the idea of consulting with a pharmacist over a doctor to be pretty silly, but I would find having to PAY EXTRA for that "privilege" to be patently absurd.
Second, I recently read that many lawsuits are being thrown out for people who had medical problems that can be traced to having taken generic medications. Suits that would have been allowed for the original name-brand drugs are thrown out of court on a technicality relating to generic drugs--the generics are required to use the same labels as the name-brand meds, but the makers of the generics aren't deemed responsible for the content of those labels so they have no legal liability for things that go wrong.
That's a mighty nice loophole for the makers of generic meds, but I think it would disappear of those meds were sold OTC. Seems like OTC meds would have more labeling requirements and more liability for their Big Pharma manufacturers.
Second, I recently read that many lawsuits are being thrown out for people who had medical problems that can be traced to having taken generic medications. Suits that would have been allowed for the original name-brand drugs are thrown out of court on a technicality relating to generic drugs--the generics are required to use the same labels as the name-brand meds, but the makers of the generics aren't deemed responsible for the content of those labels so they have no legal liability for things that go wrong.
That's absolutely amazing, @Street Smart. What a nice deal for the generic manufacturers. I don't mind buying generic products, but I like to be selective. I may buy Kirkland brand tissue but not Stop & Shop for instance. Well, you don't get that luxury with prescription generics-- you get whatever the pharmacy has behind the counter. What's worse, the color of the same medication can vary from maker to maker, making it confusing for patients who take multiple medications (especially older folks).
Re: Insurance Ramifications
Dex
4/3/2012 11:14:45 AM
I understand prescription plans make behind the counter drugs less expensive in many cases. But keep in mind an important fact: not everyone has prescription coverage. And competition gradually forces down OTC prices.
Re: Insurance Ramifications
cat tail
4/3/2012 11:25:39 AM
If we're going to have to consult with pharmacists, they better start hiring some -- at least at the chain stores -- who 1) are relatively pleasant; 2) speak clear enough to be understood; 3) don't act annoyed when you ask a question.
Re: Insurance Ramifications
Drivewaygirl
4/3/2012 11:30:16 AM
And privacy. At the CVS I go to, they state the name of the drug you are picking up so loudly that it is downright embrassing. How are they planning to offer this counseling discretely?
Pharmacists know best
Tenacious
4/3/2012 11:53:40 AM
But in many respects it makes sense. Your pharmacist often has a better handle on drugs and their use than your doctor. So if you can find a good pharmacist, this could be a reasonable plan that could save consumers the trip to the physician and boost profits for phama companies,
Re: Pharmacists know best
tokyogai
4/3/2012 2:21:09 PM
They have systems like this in other countries- called Pharmacist prescriptions. It seems to work well. I think we should give it a try.
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