Ross Products parent records $30 mil. in Q4 from sale of Clear eyes eye drops, Murine eye drops and ear care products to Prestige Brands International. Deal was completed Dec. 30, according to Abbott, which says divested brands were profitable but no longer fit its strategic direction. Abbott expressed similar rationale for selling Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo line to Chattem last year (1"The Tan Sheet" March 11, 2002, p. 5). Sales for Ross division, which markets Similac infant formula and Ensure, Glucerna adult nutritionals, rose 3.4% in Q4 to $502 mil. but were flat for the year at $2.09 bil. During Jan. 16 analysts call, Abbott Medical Products Group President & COO Richard Gonzalez announces two "strategic introductions" for adult nutritionals segment in 2003 - Ensure in a plastic, reclosable container, and retail launch of Prosure, a product for weight loss in oncology patients that is currently available in the institutional segment...

While endocrine-disrupting evidence was inconclusive, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety recommends more conservative limits on use of homosalate, octocrylene and benzophenone-3 in cosmetic products compared with current requirements under the European Cosmetics Product Regulation.

The risk of inadvertently growing SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell and gene therapies and possibly infecting patients and workers should be assessed and mitigated, the agency advises.