IBUPROFEN ANALGESICS CONTINUE TO GAIN MARKETSHARE
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
IBUPROFEN ANALGESICS CONTINUE TO GAIN MARKETSHARE primarily at the expense of aspirin and aspirin-containing analgesic compounds, according to recent audit data from Information Resources, Inc. subsidiary Towne-Oller & Associates. Retail sales of ibuprofen- based OTC analgesics in food and drug stores grew 11% in the 12- month period from May 1992 through April 1993 to $ 564 mil. Ibuprofen-containing products increased their share of the nearly $ 2.4 bil. OTC analgesic market by more than one-and-a-half share points to 23.8% during the 12-month period through April 1993, the Towne-Oller data show (see chart below). Each share point in the OTC analgesic market is currently worth about $ 24 mil. in sales. Acetaminophen analgesics, led by McNeil's Tylenol line, still dominate the market with a 47% share as retail sales continue to grow faster than the overall market. For the 12 months through April 1993, acetaminophen analgesic product sales at retail increased 5% to over $ 1.1 bil. The overall analgesic market grew 3.6% to $ 2.37 mil. for the 12 months through April. Sales of aspirin-based analgesic compounds fell 5% to $ 400.9 mil. with the group's marketshare slipping to 16.4%. Aspirin product sales declined 3% to $ 289.6 mil. and marketshare fell to 12.2%. Chart omitted.