UPJOHN MOTRIN IB SINUS CONSUMER AD CAMPAIGN SLATED FOR JANUARY
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
UPJOHN MOTRIN IB SINUS CONSUMER AD CAMPAIGN SLATED FOR JANUARY kick-off, the company said. Promotional support for the new coated caplet product, the first Motrin IB line extension since the product's launch in 1989, will continue throughout 1994 via different promotions including free-standing insert coupon drops in Sunday newspapers, Upjohn said. The company is also considering television ads featuring the new product. Upjohn began shipping Motrin IB Sinus to the trade on Sept. 10 and expects the product to reach store shelves in mid- October.Motrin IB Sinus (ibuprofen 200 mg/pseudoephedrine 30 mg) in caplet form was approved by FDA on July 29 via a supplemental NDA ("The Tan Sheet" Sept. 6, In Brief). Upjohn is still awaiting FDA approval of the combination in tablet form. Upjohn VP and General Manager of Upjohn Consumer Products Thomas Laughlin predicted that the line extension, "propelled by a high level of marketing support . . . will mount a strong challenge against the market leaders." He estimated the size of the OTC sinus market at $ 235 mil. in 1992 and projected growth to $ 260 mil. in 1993 "driven in part by Motrin IB Sinus." The company noted that the ibuprofen-based analgesic Motrin IB is the fastest. growing national analgesic brand, with a 12% gain in tablet consumption year-to-date, according to Information Resources, Inc. subsidiary Towne-Oller. Before Motrin IB Sinus, American Home Products was the only company with approval to market an ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine combination. The company markets three brands, including Robins' Dimetapp Sinus and Whitehall's Advil Cold & Sinus and Dristan Sinus. Recent retail food and drug sales figures from Towne-Oller for the 12 month period ended Aug. 30 show Mortrin IB sales of $ 85.7 mil. Whitehall's Advil continues to dominate the ibuprofen-based analgesic market with nearly $ 300 mil. in sales. The Towne-Oller data also indicate that American Home Products has gotten considerable mileage out of its ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine combination products which generated combined sales of almost $ 35 mil. Advil Cold & Sinus leads the pack with sales of $ 26.6 mil. and Dristan Sinus generated sales of $ 7.4 mil. Following is Dimetapp Sinus, introduced in 1992, with sales totaling $ 5.8 mil. Motrin IB Sinus is an outgrowth of an agreement between Upjohn and Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer unit announced in January. Under the terms of the agreement, Upjohn received access to "certain McNeil product developments, including several ibuprofen- based products developed by McNeil but not marketed." In addition, McNeil is assisting Upjohn's 75 reps in promoting that company's OTC ibuprofen products at retail outlets. In return, McNeil will receive "financial considerations and some future technology." The J&J subsidiary withdrew its own OTC ibuprofen product Medipren from the market last year. In April, McNeil changed the name of their "number one" selling prescription ibuprofen product for children from Pedia-Profen to Children's Motrin.
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