Drug Store News articles from April 2006

Drug Store News archives from April 2006

New Wal-Mart store puts pharmacy front and center.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... PLANO, Texas -- Of all the changes evident in Wal-Mart's newest prototype located in this affluent community north of Dallas, several of the most dramatic involve the pharmacy and related health and beauty care departments. Both were...

Duane Reade marches to Dreiling's tune; New chief orchestrates 'Full Potential' plan.(Duane Reade Holding Corp., Richard Dreiling)
April 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- Richard Dreiling, who took the helm at Duane Reade in November, has his orchestra in place and is now gearing up to make some music for the Big Apple with a new six-point turnaround plan unveiled in late March. "Duane Reade is...

Hannan steps in as NACDS contemplates life after Fuller.(National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Bob Hannan, Craig Fuller)
April 10, 2006... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- As Drug Store News reported last month in a special e-newsletter exclusive, Craig Fuller has offered his resignation as president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, upon learning of...

Target expands bath and body.(Target Stores Inc.)
April 10, 2006... MINNEAPOLIS -- Target celebrated spring by opening 25 stores and greatly expanding its reach into the HBA category. Last month, the retailer rolled out new Target Bath & Body departments in all stores nationwide, introducing new products and...

Riding out weak flu season, Walgreen marks another record.
April 10, 2006... DEERFIELD, HI. -- Walgreen Co. shrugged off a weaker-than-expected flu season and the impact of lower-margin Medicare and mail-order business in its pharmacies to post another sales and earnings record in the second quarter ended Feb. 28. But...

Gingrich leads bill at CHPA annual conference.(Newt Gingrich, Consumer Healthcare Products Association)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... AVENTURA, Fla. -- Celebrating its 125th anniversary, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association presided over its annual executive meeting here last month. The tone throughout the three-day conference focused not only on the industry's many...

Senators vow to block von Eschenbach FDA nomination.(Food and Drug Administration, Andrew von Eschenbach )(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach was elevated from his role as acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration last month as President George W. Bush officially nominated the director of the National Cancer Institute as the...

Cerberus serious: Taps Miller to lead 'New Albertsons'.(Cerberus Capital Management names Robert Miller as chief executive officer)
April 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- The investment group led by Cerberus Capital Management that is snapping up 655 Albertsons stores has tapped Robert Miller, Rite Aid and Wild Oats Markets chairman, to serve as chief executive officer of the Albertsons units. ...

Industry puts mettle to the pedal.(Rite Aid Corp. and Bayer HealthCare AG promote)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Rite Aid Pro Cycling Rite Aid earlier this month announced its sponsorship of the Rite Aid Pro Cycling team, a professional cycling team that posted 20 wins in 2005. The 10-man squad will be racing in 50 competitions across the...

Patriot Act adds regs to PSE sales.(Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001)(pseudoephedrine )(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Last month marked the approved renewal of the Patriot Act which, in addition to containing anti-terrorism provisions, established a national regulation on the placement and sale of all products containing pseudoephedrine And...

Wellness made easy at Harris Teeter.(new program to help in choosing healthy foods)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... MATTHEWS, N.C. -- Harris Teeter has announced a new program for its private label products that will give consumers quick and easy reference when choosing foods to suit their health and/or medical needs. The "yourwellness" program is a...

Bashas' opens in-store clinics.(retail health clinics opened)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Bashas' is getting into the retail health clinics business, launching clinics in several Bashas' and Food City stores. The chain has teamed up with MediMin Inc. and noted that if there is great enough demand, it will expand...

New product watch: innovation index.(Table)
April 10, 2006... New product watch: Innovation index Each month, through an exclusive partnership with Hamacher Resource Group, Drug Store News presents an evaluation of top new product launches, based on an evaluation of key criteria (see below). ...

Avian flu on the wing, expected to catch up with U.S. by June.
April 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- While there are, as of yet, no confirmed cases of the avian influenza virus H5N1 mutating into a disease that is easily transmutable between humans and chickens, predictions that the virus will infect America s domestic flocks as...

Competing views on Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
April 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Is the Medicare glass half empty or half full? In March, Bush administration health officials were proudly trumpeting the rising enrollment figures for the Medicare Part D drug benefit plan, and the president was defending the...

GSK tests RFID tags.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC introduces Trizivir with radio frequency identification device)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- Glaxo-SmithKline this month began distributing its HIV drug Trizivir with radio frequency identification tags Trizivir is one of 32 drugs most susceptible to counterfeiting and diversion, according to the National...

Organic to clinics, retailing trends are far-reaching.(Editorial)
April 10, 2006... The recent headlines in the retail pharmacy industry reflect several key issues and trends that will continue to drive growth and change over the next several years. They are an indication of the many opportunities available to the- companies...

NACDS must be undeniable presence in health care.(Editorial)
April 10, 2006... "The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot." That's what Boston Celtic legend Bill Russell once had to say about playing defense I had a couple of coaches when I was...

New pain drugs flesh out pipeline.(Chain Pharmacy)
April 10, 2006... FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- According to Doug Long, IMS Health's vice president of industry relations, about half of the suffers of chronic pain who used cox-2 drugs, have not come back to the market since the removal of Vioxx. This means a lot of...

Search for relief pains arthritis sufferers.(Chain Pharmacy)
April 10, 2006... WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- It's been a year and a half since Merck voluntarily withdrew Vioxx, its blockbuster cox-2 arthritis and pain management medication from the global market, leaving many people wondering who--and what--is going to...

APhA's collaborative care model reaches halfway mark in rollout.(American Pharmacists Association Foundation)
April 10, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- In a clear sign that the concept of pharmacy-driven, collaborative disease management programs is gaining increasing acceptance, the American Pharmacists Association Foundation revealed last month that its vaunted Diabetes Ten...

Heavy workloads still an issue, but pharmacists' satisfaction improves.(Chain Pharmacy)
April 10, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- More than two-thirds of pharmacists say they are faced with role overload, according to a newly released survey of pharmacists, and job stress continues to plague practitioners at work sites across the country. However, the...

Medicare, evolving role of pharmacist in focus at APhA's annual event.(Chain Pharmacy)
April 10, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- A record gathering of pharmacists and guests swelled the Moscone Conference Center West here for the pharmacy profession's premier annual gathering, and they shined a spotlight on the evolving role of pharmacists in the era of...

Kerr to flesh out in-store clinic offerings.(Kerr Drug)
April 10, 2006... RALEIGH, N.C. -- Expanding its arsenal of fee-based patient-care and health education services, Kerr Drug has contracted with an outside clinical-care provider to begin opening medical centers in select Kerr Drug stores in North Carolina and...

Kroger files antitrust suit.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... CINCINNATI -- Following a settlement among Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi-Aventis and Apotex last week, Kroger has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit. The supermarket chain claims the settlement of the lawsuit involving blood-thinning drug Plavix is...

Schnucks upgrades Rx system.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... ST. LOUIS -- In a bid to boost productivity and cut costs, Schnucks Markets is introducing a pharmacy operating system, dubbed Enterprise Rx, in-all 99 of its pharmacy locations this year. The new system, from Per-Se Technologies, will link...

Novo Nordisk launches Levemir.(Chain Pharmacy)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... PRINCETON, N.J. -- Levemir, a long-acting basal insulin analogue, now is commercially available in the United States from Novo Nordisk. The drug is a once- or twice-daily injection to treat adults and children with type 1 diabetes and adults...

Pharmacy care project fires at depression.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The American Pharmacists Association Foundation has announced the launch of Project IMPACT: Depression, in the city of Asheville, N.C., famed as the site of a pioneering comprehensive collaborative care model for patients with...

Switching, combining drugs improves treatment outcomes.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Switching or combining drugs can help patients find relief from depression, according to the findings of a recent government-funded study. Some 50 percent of depression sufferers could feel better through medication, it...

Excedrin.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Excedrin, acquired last year by Novartis, last month received further clinical support as the headache' medicine of choice. A study of more than 1,500 migraine sufferers published last month in the medical journal Headache found that migraine...

McNeil Consumer Healthcare.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Attempting to add some pizzazz to its pediatric offerings, McNeil Consumer Healthcare began shipping last month a Children's Tylenol Flavor Creator product that personalizes the medicine experience to each child. A Children's Motrin Flavor...

Hyland.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Hyland's last month introduced Restful Legs and Sniffles 'n Sneezes 4 Kids. Restful Legs complements the company s Leg Cramps with Quinine SKU as the only over-the-counter product that relieves symptoms of uncontrollable leg jerks, a...

Personal Products Co.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Adding to its line of intimacy and wellness lubricant products, Personal Products Co., a division of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare, will be launching the first spray lubricant into the category called KY Sensual Mist. The...

NSF International.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... NSF International last month introduced an athletic-banned-substances certification program for dietary supplements and sports nutrition products, a program that has been endorsed by Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players...

Baby boomers, women drive retail's new love affair with intimacy products.(baby boom market)
April 10, 2006... Not only are tastefully merchandised intimacy products gaining momentum on the shelves of mass retailers, but increasingly there is a budding awareness that those products belong there, just down the aisle from the heartburn remedies and fiber...

Meter sales running briskly.(diabetes meter sales goes high )(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... While diet always has been an integral piece of a plan to manage diabetes, recent studies are suggesting that consumers cannot manage their blood glucose levels through diet alone. Diabetes researcher Elizabeth Mayer-Davis of the University...

In sexual healing, supplements focus on dysfunction.(dietary supplements)
April 10, 2006... As the intimacy and wellness category evolves into a tastefully packaged product selection supporting healthy intimate relations between couples, the dietary supplement piece of that is making a change, as well. Now many of the supplements...

L'Oreal.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... L'Oreal plans to take over the British retailer The Body Shop International for $1.14 billion. The Body Shop International, which was founded 30 years ago and is known for its natural-based products, has grown into a cosmetics brand with...

Nextera Enterprises.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Nextera Enterprises has acquired Woodridge Labs, a consumer products manufacturer whose brands include Vita-K Solution and DermaFreeze365. W Lab Acquisition Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextera, acquired virtually all of the assets...

Hain Celestial Group.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... The Hain Celestial Group has acquired the business and assets of Para Laboratories, including the Queen Helene, Batherapy and Footherapy brands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Para Labs--which offers skin care, hair care and body...

Colgate-Palmolive.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Colgate-Palmolive is entering the fast-growing natural products segment by acquiring a majority stake (84 percent) in Tom s of Maine, which makes natural toothpaste, mouthwash and deodorant, in a deal valued at about $100 million. Tom and...

Manufacturers freshen up cosmetics to meet high-end consumer expectations.(industry forecasts)
April 10, 2006... Would a woman carrying a $1,200 luxury handbag walk into a drug store and buy a $2 lipstick? If you think the answer is "no, think again. Years ago, women may have viewed discount cosmetics as ineffective formulas encased in cheap...

Sales are razor sharp.(WHAT'S HOT)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Gillette is cutting up the competition with its new Fusion shaving platform for men, which is driving much of the current growth in the razor category. In the drug channel alone, sales of non-disposable razors were up 44.3 percent to $20.4...

Warner Home Video.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Martha's Spring Gardening from Warner Home Video features more than 80 informative segments plus 14 bonus tips and techniques from Marth Stwart on two discs. The six hours of content, for gardeners from beginner to expert, cover everything from...

Jasco Products Co.(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Jasco Products Co., a GE licensee, was recently awarded the Golden Hammer Award from Home Channel News, a Lebhar-Friedman publication. The award honors retailers and suppliers for their work with the home improvement industry. Jasco, founded in...

Little Kids.(toys introduced )(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Little Kids introduced Construction and Magical Princess-themed No-Spill Bubble Tumbler toys. The construction-themed tumbler features a yellow screwdriver-shaped wand and a construction truck theme. The Magical Princess tumbler comes in pink...

Staedtler.(school compass sets launched)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Staedtler has added to its line of drawing instruments two German precision-engineered school compass sets. Each set features triangular-shaped metal legs with a textured grip surface, and both are packaged in durable hard plastic clam cases...

Questar Inc.(Supplier news)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Questar Inc. will launch "The Toy Castle" DVD series in stores April 25. Performed by members of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the three-disc set features imaginative ballet stories and encourages creative play that nurtures an appreciation for...

Suppliers quietly try to craft new niche for hobby materials in drug chains.
April 10, 2006... Few industries generate billions of dollars a year more quietly than crafts and hobbies. Led by such specialists as Michael s, the business generated more than $30.5 billion in revenue last year according to the Craft and Hobby Association,...

Turn mattress into yoga mat.("Yoga in Bed: 20 Asanas to Do in Pajamas." by Goldhil Home Media)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... It's certainly not a stretch to say yoga has taken off in the last few years, with as many as 30 million people practicing the 5,000-year-old tradition in the United States, according to the North American Studio Alliance, an organization for...

Fox Home Entertainment.(Supplier news)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Fox Home Entertainment will launch the first season of "Dharma & Greg" June 13 on a three-disc collector's edition DVD. Bonus features include commentaries; "When Two Worlds Collide: The Dharma & Greg Story" featurette and a "Reaching Your...

Goldhil Entertainment.(Supplier news)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Goldhil Entertainment sets kids jamming with the "Jamarama Live" DVD June 14. Such artists as Laurie Berkner, Milkshake and The Ohmies will have kids on their feet dancing for joy and singing along with catchy tunes. The alternative to...

Ann Clark Ltd.(Supplier news)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... The summertime cookie cutter line from Ann Clark Ltd. features Cutters a la Mode, traditional cookie cutters, cookie cutter gift sets and cookbooks for children. Including a recipe card, the cutters a la mode are available, in butterfly,...

CVS.(Retailer News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... CVS has joined more than 40 states and the District of Columbia in promising to strengthen practices that keep minors from buying tobacco products. The Woonsocket-R.I.-based retailer has agreed to check the identities of customers who attempt...

Wrigley Co.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... The Wrigley Co. is offering seasonal gums and candies, including treats in pastel colors and fun shapes, to celebrate the Easter season. Hubba Bubba Twist & Pour Easter Eggs are multicolored Easter eggs stuffed with pellets of gum in an...

Sweet Assets Candy Co.(going public)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Sweet Assets Candy Co. has gone public with its new Financial Crunch, a gourmet chocolate packaged in an elegant green and gold octagonal tin filled with a unique 11-count "baker s dozen" of half-ounce candies, each with a "tax bite" out of it....

Dole.(pasta products from Dole Packaged Foods Co.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Dole is introducing pasta to the produce section with its new Fresh Makes Veggie Pasta salad kits. Each of those kits comes ready to prepare in under 14 minutes. The varieties are broccoli ranch with corkscrew pasta, garden vegetable with...

Birdseye Foods.(steamfresh frozen vegetables launched)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Steamfresh frozen vegetables from Birdseye Foods steam themselves fight in their own bag using patented steaming technology and freshly frozen vegetables. The convenient preparation takes five minutes. The vegetables are available in broccoli...

P&G Coffee.(Procter & Gamble Co. introduces stomach freindly coffee)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... P&G Coffee launched the first mainstream "stomach-friendly" coffee, Folgers Simply Smooth, which is lightly and precisely roasted to reduced the irritants that trigger stomach acid production and cause discomfort, while maintaining the rich...

Innovation adds breath of fresh air to growing mint and gum categories.
April 10, 2006... There's a big focus on innovation in the non-chocolate confectionary categories. In an effort to grab the attention of fickle consumers eager to try the next new thing, manufacturers are ramping up their research efforts so they can continue to...

Muscled-up water floods market.(bottled water or enriched water)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Consumers are finding that hydration is not enough, as enhanced bottled waters have been practically flooding the market. Sales of enhanced water jumped-from $80 million in 2001 to $245 million in 2002, according to the Beverage Marketing...