Drug Store News articles from July 2008

Drug Store News archives from July 2008

Medicare bill passed by Senate seen critical to pharmacy.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Will community pharmacy or the White House prevail in their long-running battle over prescription reimbursements? Boiled down to its essence, that was the question on the minds of industry leaders in mid-July, following the...

Vendor-assistance programs make Marketplace much more than products.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN DIEGO -- By the time the exhibit floor opened for business June 29, The National Association of Chain Drug Stores already had facilitated more than 10,000 face-to-face meetings between retail buyers and vendors...

SureScripts, RxHub to join forces.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va., and ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Relations between pharmacy benefit managers and retail pharmacies have not always conjured images of close cooperation and partnership. But in a breakthrough business deal that could propel the nationwide...

Walgreens experiments with smaller formats.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... ORLANDO -- Walgreens' pursuit of growth in recent years has caused the company to open in-store clinics, create new health services and even pursue acquisitions. Now, the company best known for operating 15,000-square-foot stores located at the...

Brooks/Eckerd comps bode well for Rite Aid.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)(revenue report)(Financial report)
July 21, 2008... CAMP HILL, Pa. -- With the reporting of Rite Aid's fiscal 2009 first-quarter results on June 26, the days of Rite Aid minus Brooks/Eckerd same-store sales reporting are over. And while that may mean an initial drag on Rite Aid's comparable...

In big shift, Walgreens eases growth throttle.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Bowing to the realities of a bleak economic outlook, a crowded drug store marketplace and its own need to bolster profitability, Walgreens revealed this month that it would scale back significantly on its organic store...

AMA pushes for ban on tobacco items from stores with clinics.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)(American Medical Association)
July 21, 2008... CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association is at it again. Just days removed from public comments filed by the Federal Trade Commission decrying the rationale of such a move, physicians who gathered here last month for the AMA's annual...

Convenient Care Association.(IN THE NEWS)(Aon Risk Services and Nurses Service Organization)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... PHILADELPHIA -- The Convenient Care Association has partnered with Aon Risk Services and Nurses Service Organization, divisions within Aon Corp., to offer clinic providers liability insurance. For start-up and smaller organizations, NSO has...

Meriter.(IN THE NEWS)(Meriter Health Services Inc. alliance with Meriter Health Services Inc.)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... MADISON, Wis. -- Meriter has teamed up with ShopKo to open two FastCare clinics here in mid-October. Meriter's clinics will be staffed by nurse practitioners. Green Bay, Wis.-based Bellin Hospital, in partnership with ShopKo, started the...

Take Care Health Systems.(IN THE NEWS)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. -- Take Care Health Systems has expanded its presence with store openings in Wisconsin, Colorado and Columbus. The clinic operator has expanded into three more Wisconsin cities with the opening of its first clinics at...

SF mayor to drug stores: 'the butt stops here'.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)(San Francisco)
July 21, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- While many smokers regard the drug store as a destination for cigarette purchases, residents of one of California's largest cities might soon need to look elsewhere to feed their nic-fix. Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed an...

Hot at the show.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... This year as a bonus to Drug Store News' annual daily coverage of NACDS Marketplace, our reporters scoured the exhibit floor with one mission: to find this year's HOTTEST products. Here's our top 10. 5-HOUR ENERGY Living Essentials...

CVS' Smith to retire as logistics head.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
July 21, 2008... WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- CVS' senior vice president of supply chain and logistics, Kevin Smith, is retiring from the company at the end of 2008, marking an end to eight years of service. Until his retirement, Smith will remain with CVS as the...

Chain pharmacy vet Glaser dies at 53.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)(Matthew Glaser )(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... BURLINGTON, Mass. -- Chain pharmacy veteran Matthew Glaser died June 21 following a battle with cancer. He was 53 at the time of his death. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Glaser was a respected leader in retail pharmacy who spent more than 30...

Invitation only: Drug Store News beach oarty rocks the W.(MAKING THE SCENE)
July 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Scott Weaver of Promotions Unlimited with Bob Ford and Scott Jones of Papyrus. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charlie Williams, Joe Sullivan and Rick Sirvaitis of Storeboard Media. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

The Emerson Group entertains Marketplace attendees.(MAKING THE SCENE)
July 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jay Borneman of Hyland's, with Rob Eder of Drug Store News and Mary Borneman (Jay Borneman's sister) of Hyland's. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ric Durr, Tom Morrell and Brian Meyers of the Swanson Group with Mike...

Marketplace big with little things done right.(OPINION)(Editorial)
July 21, 2008... Something pretty unique happened this year during Marketplace, and ironically, although it had very little to do with Marketplace, it really made me think how much the event has evolved over the last several years. Two pitchers for the Los...

Wholesalers key to independents' success.(Top Wholesaler Report)
July 21, 2008... In a time when giant drug store, supermarket and mass merchant chains with their own distribution centers shake the retail landscape, the drug wholesaling business is alive and well. For pharmacy retailers, particularly smaller-scale...

Regional wholesalers endure via personal service, sharp focus.(Top Wholesaler Report)
July 21, 2008... The drug distribution industry's big three players--McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health--stand astride the retail pharmacy landscape as a triumvirate of supply chain prowess. But like the independent community pharmacies they...

McKesson: seeing the market through customers' eyes.(Top Wholesaler Report)
July 21, 2008... SAN FRANCISCO -- One of America's oldest continuously operating companies is acting like a 21st century upstart. McKesson Corp. is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, but it is focused more on a continual process of reinvention...

Cardinal pursues supply chain turnaround.(Top Wholesaler Report)(Cardinal Health Inc.)
July 21, 2008... DUBLIN, Ohio -- With $87 billion in sales and a ranking of 19 on the Fortune 500 list, Cardinal Health is a multifaceted healthcare giant as well as a drug distribution powerhouse. And it's taken steps to leverage its huge size by merging some...

AmerisourceBergen streamlines, strengthens GNP.(Top Wholesaler Report)(Good Neighbor Pharmacy )
July 21, 2008... VALLEY FORGE, Pa. -- In a bid to respond more quickly and effectively to a fast-changing healthcare marketplace, AmerisourceBergen Corp. is in the midst of a transformation. The drug distribution and health services giant has changed the way...

Government mulls tightening drug DTC advertising.(CHAIN PHARMACY)(direct-to-consumer advertising)
July 21, 2008... Drug makers spent $5.4 billion last year on direct-to-consumer advertising, according to the market research firm Nielsen Monitor-Plus. That's a fivefold increase in the decade since rules about the disclosures required in television ads were...

Consumers still see value in drug makers' ad campaigns.(CHAIN PHARMACY)(Survey)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Despite increasing scrutiny from Congress and health and safety watchdog groups of pharmaceutical companies' direct-to-consumer advertisements, consumers themselves still seem to accept the ads, and to see value in the information they contain....

NACDS aligns with Congress to quash rogue internet pharmacies.(CHAIN PHARMACY)(National Association of Chain Drug Stores)
July 21, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Efforts in Congress to target the illegal sale and abuse of pharmaceuticals online have drawn strong support from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. But the group urged caution as lawmakers eye tougher regulations...

Senator requests FDA review of pharma outsourcing standards.(CHAIN PHARMACY)(Food and Drug Administration)
July 21, 2008... WASHINGTON -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a member of the Senate Health, Education and Labor Pensions Committee, is requesting additional information from the Food and Drug Administration and the pharmaceutical industry concerning the...

Regulations could delay Canadian generics.(CHAIN PHARMACY)
July 21, 2008... OTTAWA -- Proposed Canadian government regulations look set to further delay the approval of generic drugs in this country, which is bad news for manufacturers, patients needing drugs and the provinces that pay for them. The changes will...

Amneal Pharmaceuticals.(Supplier News)(drug approval)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Amneal Pharmaceuticals recently received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to manufacture three generic drugs: primidone 50 mg and 250 mg; cyclobenzaprine 10 mg; and demeclocycline 150 and 300 mg. Demeclocycline is the generic...

Daiichi Sankyo.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Daiichi Sankyo has released data from post-hoc analyses of three pivotal studies involving its cholesterol drug Welchol in the treatment of certain risks related to diabetes. The data showed that adding Welchol to diabetes treatment...

Type 2 diabetes.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... New data from two recent studies--which in all, covered more than 21,000 people with Type 2 diabetes--is creating quite a stir in the area of diabetes care. According to the results there is no reduction in the risk of heart attack and strokes...

NACDS joins legal effort to protect pharmacy data.(CHAIN PHARMACY)(National Association of Chain Drug Stores)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has stepped into a legal turf battle over who owns the right to prescription pricing information. NACDS filed a legal brief last month in a pending class action lawsuit to...

FDA orders HFA-propelled inhalers, bans CFCs.(CHAIN PHARMACY)
July 21, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration at the end of May issued a public health advisory to alert patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals to switch to hydrofluoroalkane-propelled albuterol inhalers given the coming ban on...

Beiersdorf seals lip care entry with kiss of innovation.(OVER THE COUNTER)
July 21, 2008... NEW YORK -- It's a kiss of skin care on the lips. That's part of the tag line associated with Beiersdorf's expansion of its U.S. product portfolio with the launch of Nivea Lip Care, which utilizes "kiss of" on the packaging as a point of...

IRI poll shows customers seek value, affordability as economy struggles.(OVER THE COUNTER)(Information Resources Inc.)(Survey)
July 21, 2008... CHICAGO -- Although a weakened economy may bode well for sales of over-the-counter medicines as consumers seek cheaper healthcare options in the self-care arena, there will be significant purchasing trend shifts in the marketplace, according to...

Alli celebrates gains with 'We Lost It' book.(OVER THE COUNTER)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... PITTSBURGH -- GlaxoSmithKline coupled its one-year launch anniversary of the over-the-counter diet aid Alli last month with the launch of a new book, titled "We Lost It," which depicts a few of Alli's first-year success stories out of some 4...

Supplement with a heart.(WHAT'S HOT)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... MORRIST0WN, N.J. -- With the launch of Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage, a product that combines the benefits of a low-dose daily regimen of 81 mg aspirin with natural supplement plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol, Bayer may have...

Leiner deal would make NBTY private-label leader.(ECRM[R]: Vitamin, Diet & Sports Nutrition)(Leiner Health Products Inc.)
July 21, 2008... NBTY is quietly building its dietary supplement empire by acquiring big-brand properties at bargain prices. Its latest proposed acquisition is Leiner Health. And it's not a bad strategy: Scoop up dietary supplement companies like it did with...

FDA goes after fake cancer cures.(ECRM[R]: Vitamin, Diet & Sports Nutrition)
July 21, 2008... In a crackdown on those companies making illegitimate dietary supplement claims, the Food and Drug Administration last month mailed warning letters to 23 U.S. companies and two foreign individuals marketing a wide range of products fraudulently...

DSEA and NPF merge.(ECRM[R]: Vitamin, Diet & Sports Nutrition)(Dietary Supplement Education Alliance mergers with Natural Products Foundation)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... The Dietary Supplement Education Alliance last month merged with the Natural Products Foundation, the companies announced. "DSEA's Dietary Supplement Information Bureau and consumer and media outreach programs are highly regarded and will...

Biocodex.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Biocodex last month announced that it has enlisted the services of Morgan & Sampson USA to help manage growth and distribution of the probiotics Florastor and Florastor Kids into the United States. "Our initial foray into U.S. markets was a...

WatchDog Nutrition.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... WatchDog Nutrition in June announced the availability of its new diabetic-friendly snack bars in more than 200 Southern California Ralph's grocery stores. "Ralph's is an ideal partner for WatchDog Nutrition's line of functional foods and...

Council for Responsible Nutrition.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... The Council for Responsible Nutrition added Stuart Rothenberg to the speaker docket for its annual meeting, to be held just outside Albuquerque, N.M., from Oct. 2 to 5. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "As the editor and publisher of a biweekly...

American Medical Association.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... The American Medical Association last month adopted several new public health policies during its annual meeting, including educating doctors on the value of supplementing with vitamin D and advocating a daily regimen of low-close aspirin to...

Study shows substance succeeds sizzle as hair care target.(BEAUTY CARE)
July 21, 2008... While product innovation remains a driving force in the hair care sector, looking ahead companies must set their sights on meeting the needs of beauty shoppers to achieve growth rather than launching products for the sake of simply introducing...

Beauty education hits the road.(BEAUTY CARE)(Gamier Nutritioniste)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... CHICAGO -- Maybelline New York and Gamier Nutritioniste have hit the road with the Great Beauty Tour, a co-branded mobile educational vehicle that is bringing the best of beauty to women across the country by educating them on how to use the...

Face value: Srini Sripada, Unilever.(Q&A)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Looking to create deep consumer engagement through 360-degree campaigns, Unilever's Pond's skin care brand has teamed up with the new movie "Mamma Mia!," which hit theaters July 18, to engage women ages 40 and older...

The eyelashes still have it.(WHAT'S HOT)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... NORTH UTILE ROCK, Ark. -- Long, thick lashes are always high on a woman's beauty list, and continue to be a big trend on fashion runways and with celebrities. In fact, according to Chicago-based market research firm Information Resources...

Charles Worthington 'meets' television advertising.(BEAUTY CARE)
July 21, 2008... Looking to bolster the brand equity and image of hair care brand Charles Worthington London, Beautology kicked off in late May its first television campaign. "We had a pretty substantial print campaign last year hitting all of the major...

Product innovations boost ready-to-drink teas.(CONSUMABLES)
July 21, 2008... A recent report from Packaged Facts revealed that tea is one of the most underdeveloped beverages in the United States, with enormous potential for growth. The market research firm predicts that category sales could reach $15 billion by 2012,...

Consumers will only bear so much on rising prices.(CONSUMABLES)
July 21, 2008... NEW YORK -- Consumer prices for finished food products have risen 5 percent to this point in 2008, compared with the same period last year, while agriculture commodities prices for the same period have risen 25 percent, according to analysts at...

Dr Pepper unleashes Venom.(WHAT'S HOT)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... PLANO, Texas -- Dr Pepper Snapple Group this month launched Venom, a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate energy drink that comes in a resealable aluminum bottle. Venom is available in two varieties: black mamba and Mojave rattler. [ILLUSTRATION...

Anheuser-Busch management tries to dodge coup.(CONSUMABLES)
July 21, 2008... Management at Anheuser-Busch continues to struggle against a takeover by InBev, as of press time. In an effort to fend off the $46.36 million bid by the Belgian-based brewer, A-B management met with the chief executive officer of Mexico's Grupo...

Juice makers get boost from premium juice market.(CONSUMABLES)
July 21, 2008... High prices and high-calorie contents are putting the squeeze on the juice category. The water, ready-to-drink tea and energy drink categories have been grabbing share away from juice as consumers opt for beverages that offer a lower-calorie...

Drug expands photo kiosk services.(GENERAL MERCHANDISE)
July 21, 2008... As consumers print more of their photos at home, retail pharmacy chains are coming up with new ways to maintain their share of the photo processing market. And one way they're doing it is with new software that allows customers to create photo...

Cartridge refill service continues to grow.(GENERAL MERCHANDISE)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Walgreens has been the only major retailer to roll out inkjet cartridge refills in a big way, and plans to have them in 4,000 stores by the end of the year. But more retailers are looking at the service now that high gas...

Two DVDs that are tailor-made for pharmacies and appeal to vastly different audiences are due to arrive.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Two DVDs that are tailor-made for pharmacies and appeal to vastly different audiences are due to arrive in stores on Sept. 9. Lion's Gate Entertainment will roll out "The Best of Barney" to celebrate the purple dinosaur's 20th anniversary....

American Greetings Properties.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... American Greetings Properties is teaming with 416 Carlton Card stores in the United States and Canada for a promotion on Sushi Pack merchandise starting Aug. 15. "There will be 30 SKUs displayed at the front of the stores with a line that...

Entertainment Merchandisers Association.(Supplier News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... A report from the Entertainment Merchandisers Association showed revenues from DVD rental kiosks doubled in 2007 and are expected to post similar gains in 2008. The EMA released the report at the 27th annual Home Media Expo in Las Vegas June 24...

Mio Moov 200 GPS.(Supplier News)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... The popularity of GPS systems has driven down prices to the point where retail pharmacy chains now are carrying entry-level models. Walgreens now stocks the Mio Moov 200 GPS touch-screen navigator for just $129.99. The system is preloaded with...