Drug Topics - March 2009 - (Page 34) Product Updates FEATURED THIS MONTH: EYE CARE DT survey: Eye care sales increasing DANA K. CASSELL OTC What pharmacists need to know Refresh Tears provides relief from everyday eye irritations. Zaditor last ups to 12 hours. RESULTS 63 percent say their pharmacies are selling more eye-care products. E 34 ye care is a healthy and vibrant OTC category, a fact borne out by results from an exclusive Drug Topics survey conducted online in January. Sales in U.S. food, drug, and mass-market outlets (excluding Wal-Mart) have grown annually from $397 million in 2004 to $441 million in 2007. Reinforcing these numbers, the January 2009 EyeWorld magazine noted DRUG TOPICS March 2009 that “OTC products for ocular allergy and dry eye are quietly but rapidly growing and they often are the first line of therapy that a patient uses.” The growth in both prescription and OTC eye-care sales can be attributed to an aging population worldwide and advancements in drug-delivery techniques, according to a report released in 2008 from Global Industry Analysts (GIA) in San Jose, Calif. These findings are consistent with the Drug Topics survey, which asked pharmacists a series of questions about OTC eye-care products, covering areas from sales impact to counseling to brand recommendations. Survey results from the 260 respondents revealed that 63 percent say their pharmacies are selling more eye-care products today than they were a year ago; 37 percent specifiW W W.D R U GTO P I C S .C O M COURTESY OF NOVARTIS, ALLERGAN INC., ALCON, GETTY IMAGES / PURESTOCK / INGRAM PUBLISHING Opti-Free reconditions the surface of contact lenses. http://WWW.DRUGTOPICS.COM
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