Analgesics

Drug Store News,  May 20, 2002  

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While growth in OTC pain relief tablets continued to flat-line in 2001, the business on the external rub side of the category continued to show double-digit growth last year, driven by the successes of the myriad patch products that have reached the market in the past few years.

Early adopters, such as Salonpas--an important niche brand that continued to produce double-digit growth in 2001-Mentho-latum and LecTec, have been joined by bigger brand options, such as Bristol Myers-Squibb's Excedrin Migraine Patch, a cooling patch therapy option. The real win for the category is the fact that most of the growth created in this segment is incremental to the overall OTC pain relief category. People don't stop taking their Tylenol because they are using a capsacin patch. Rather, pain patch users tend to combine this therapy with an internal analgesic for relief that is both immediate and lasting.

Another trend that continued in 2001 was the move toward more condition-specific remedies, with a growing number of products positioned against arthritis, migraine and nighttime pain relief entering the marketplace. Naturopathic Laboratories' Joint-Ritis made a strong case for condition-specific positioning, rising to the No.1 brand in the external analgesic rub category in drug stores last year. Mo reover, Joint-Ritis pumped more incremental dollars into the category than any other brand in the entire pain relief set in 2001, and even ranked among the top 10 biggest dollar gainers across the entire front end.

Top 10 brands in drug

Brand/segment               $ sales (*)  % change

Tylenol--tablets             $143.9       -5.0%
Advil--tablets                111.5       -3.1
Aleve--tablets                 60.5        4.4
Bayer--tablets                 48.9        5.9
Tylenol PM--tablets            43.2        1.6
Motrin lB--tablets             34.3        1.8
Tylenol Liquid--liquid         32.9        1.7
Children's Motrin--liquid      31.0       -1.6
Excedrin--tablets              30.1       -5.6
Tylenol Arthritis--tablets     23.4        6.5

(*)Sales in millions
Top 10 gainers in drug

Brand/segment                   $        %      $ (*)
                            sales (*)  change  change

Joint Ritis--rubs           $21.2      173.5%   $13.4
PK5--rubs                     4.1      333.0      3.2
Bayer--tablets               48.9        5.9      2.7
Icy Hot--rubs                11.3       29.4      2.6
Aleve--tablets               60.5        4.4      2.6
Tylenol Arthritis--tablets   23.4        6.5      1.4
Salonpas--rubs                6.2       30.2      1.4
Ben-Gay--rubs                18.3        7.2      1.2
Pain Patch--rubs              3.1       62.6      1.9
Absorbine Jr.--rubs           4.0       30.6      0.9

Source: Information Resources Inc. for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 30

(*)Sales in millions
Analgesics scorecard

                          Total F/D/M (*)              Drug stores
Category/                 $         % chg.         $         % chg.
segment               sales (**)  vs. yr. ago  sales (**)  vs. yr. ago

Internal                $2,035.5     -2.4%         $862.0     -1.5%
analgesics tablets
External analgesics/       213.0     16.9           143.8     21.3
rubs
Internal                   194.9      0.9            88.7      1.3
analgesics liquids
Feminine                    57.8      8.4            24.5      7.5
pain relievers (+)

                           Drug chains only
Category/                 $          % chg.
segment               sales (**)   vs. yr. ago

Internal                  $658.0      -0.9%
analgesics tablets
External analgesics/       108.2      24.2
rubs
Internal                    68.2       2.6
analgesics liquids
Feminine                    20.0      10.1
pain relievers (+)

Source: Information Resources Inc. for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 30

(*)Total F/D/M excludes Wal-Mart

(**)Sales in millions

(+)IRI tracks as part of feminine needs category

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