Perrigo Listens To Customers, Puts OTC Omeprazole In A Bottle
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Perrigo aims to differentiate its nonprescription omeprazole from Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC and answer an unmet consumer need by offering the product in a bottle
|
Perrigo aims to differentiate its nonprescription omeprazole from Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC and answer an unmet consumer need by offering the product in a bottle. [Editor's note: This story corrects an error in "The Tan Sheet's" June 11 contribution to Health News Daily, which incorrectly stated Perrigo's offering would be the only PPI sold OTC in a bottle]. The firm unveiled its 14-count omeprazole in a bottle June 7 at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Conference in San Diego. The product will launch with promotions in August, according to Perrigo, which has marketed OTC omeprazole store brands since 2008. The "ease of use" with bottle packaging provides "an exclusive point of difference" from Prilosec OTC, Perrigo says. While Rx PPI omeprazole products are available in bottles, over-the-counter omeprazole currently is available in 14-count blister packs. Competing OTC PPIs, Merck/Schering-Plough's Zegerid OTC (omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate) and Novartis' Prevacid 24HR (lansoprazole), are currently sold in bottle form. Perrigo not only expects the change will convert more brand users to the private labels it offers retailers, but points out consumers already buying store-brand omeprazole will enjoy also having the bottled option. Consumer feedback - channeled through Perrigo's retailer customers - about preferences for bottles in part steered the private labeler to add the package as an option, said Art Shannon, VP of investor relations and communications. "Some don't like blister packs," Shannon said, adding that older consumers may tell retailers, "'I have a hard time opening blister packs.'" "It's a little bit of innovation. It's consumer-driven through the retailers, and the retailers give us that feedback." Another Hit On Prilosec OTC Sales? P&G's Prilosec OTC was the first OTC PPI on the market in 2007, but the product's sales have consistently slipped since Perrigo launched the first private label omeprazole and as other firms introduced PPI brands made with different formulations. P&G has acknowledged Prilosec OTC's market-share losses. During its most recent earnings call the firm said it is expanding its health care business in part because of competition in the nonprescription PPI space 1 (Also see "P&G Plans Health Care Expansion As Prilosec OTC Sales Continue Falling" - Pink Sheet, 3 May, 2010.)). The addition of private label omeprazole PPIs in a bottle could accelerate the encroachment on Prilosec OTC sales. P&G also has acknowledged the potential impact on product sales from packaging changes to boost consumer convenience. In 2008, the firm replaced the two 7-count push-through blister cards used in original Prilosec OTC containers with a single 14-count card made with a thinner foil material without a peel-back layer. With the previous pack, consumers had to first peel back a paper seal before pushing a pill through the foil, but the change eliminated one part of the two-step process (2 (Also see "Prilosec OTC Packaging Change Gives Consumers Easier Access" - Pink Sheet, 26 May, 2008.)). Campaigning For Market Share Merck launched Zegerid OTC in April 2010 and Novartis introduced Prevacid 24HR in 2009. In addition to offering Zegerid OTC in a bottle, Merck attempts to differentiate the product by promoting how the sodium bicarbonate's buffering action protects the omeprazole against stomach acid so the body can absorb it quickly (3 (Also see "Zegerid Ad Focuses On Science As Competitors Seek Emotional Connection" - Pink Sheet, 12 Apr, 2010.)). Both P&G and Novartis, meanwhile, are conducting ad campaigns focused on how each firm's product improves users' lifestyle. Prilosec's "Sponsor Everything You Do" campaign encourages users to "celebrate life despite frequent heartburn" and uses interactive digital media and social networking to establish an emotional tie between consumers and the drug. Novartis ads stress how Prevacid 24HR could ease the negative impact of heartburn on consumers' quality of life with the tagline "When you've had it with heartburn." - Katie Stevenson ( 4 [email protected] ) |