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C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y 2 3 M o n d a y, A p r i l 2 2 , 2 0 1 3 forward with Stephen Heit, President and Drew Edell, COO. Heit spoke to Chain Drugstore Daily about the loss and what the company has planned. CDD: We're sorry for your loss. How has the passing of Dunnan Edell been on everyone at CCA Industries? SH: As you can imagine we were utterly shocked and devastated. A sudden loss is never easy, especially the passing of a man that was in his prime and someone we all called a friend. CDD: Have your plans to move forward been altered? SH: Absolutely not, and Dunnan would- n't want it any other way. We are plan- ning ahead for new product introductions as well as increased marketing, public relations and advertising campaigns. We are excited about all of our new products across all of our brands. CDD: What was the most significant product launch or expansion in the past year? SH: In late 2011, we launched Nutra Nail Gel Perfect, the first and only LED/UV Free Gel Color Brand. It continues to be one of the best selling nail collections. It's a patented formula featuring a poly- merization action in which the two dif- ferent formulas―the gel color and the activator―work together to bond on the nail to set rock solid in just five minutes while providing a brilliant shine. It's great on both fingers and toes…a real game changer! CDD: Where is your current CCA Industries (Cont'd. from p. 1) product emphasis? SH: We are focusing on our several new beauty brands this year. We recently launched Hand Perfection―the first collection of anti-aging hand care prod- ucts. We also just added to our Sudden Change skin care line, an Under-Eye Gel treatment and launched our revolu- tionary Plus White Premier Whitening System delivering whiter teeth for a fraction of the cost of alternative prod- ucts. We have introduced an innovative Bikini Zone spray, to reduce irritation and bumps after hair removal and a Mega-T Green Coffee diet supplement. Additionally, we have Lobe Wonder our earring support patches. CDD: What distinguishes CCA Industries' product(s) from the competition? SH: We offer unique innovative products that are great profit enhancers to our retail customers. We also offer a wide variety of displays and will work with retailers to help define which ones work specifically for their stores. Our Consumer Value, based on uniqueness and price, is a huge factor in why cus- tomers consistently look for our brands. CDD: Please describe to us the nature of your distribution and how you handle sales. SH: We sell to all mass retail and chain drug accounts and have a dedicated sales team that works diligently with reps/bro- kers to call on these accounts. The CCA team can be reached at 201- 935-3232 x233 or you can visit us on the web at www.ccaindustries.com. Visit the team at NACDS Annual Meeting at booth 222. include filing up to 20 ANDA's annually. The pipeline includes a wide range of therapeutic categories, such as antiretro- viral, antiulcerant, antineoplastic, cardio- vascular, antibacterial, antidepressant, antidiabetic and more. With new product releases that include Escitalopram Tablets and Solution, Indomethacin ER, Irbesartan, Levocetiri- zine and Zonisamide. Camber will remain Camber (Cont'd. from p. 1) one of the fastest growing generic compa- nies in the United States for years to come. Located in Piscataway, N.J., Camber Pharmaceuticals is a fully inte- grated international pharmaceutical company that maintains quality and integrity in all its products from API manufacturing to finished dosage. For more information about Camber Pharmaceuticals, go online to www. camberpharma.com or call 732-529-0430. there were more than 200 wholesalers in the country. Today there are less than 50. How do you explain your survival and success? HDS: We started at zero—ours was the only wholesale drug operation that began with no previously established buyer/sell- er relationship in the marketplace. Our commitment was first and foremost to our customers, the local independent pharma- cists: to provide a full line of prescription products needed to care for patients in their community. We immediately recog- nized the need to complement prescrip- tion products with over-the-counter med- ications and home healthcare or durable medical equipment products. CDD: But your expansion encompassed more than product offerings. What other avenues of expansion has H.D. Smith implemented? HDS: We've focused on four areas of expansion that are at the core of cus- tomer support: product, geographic, customer and service offerings. Each one has served as a building block, allowing the company to evolve and grow to meet customerneeds. When we first opened, I outlined a portion of central Illinois on a map that would be our service area. That was where we began. We have grown to have a national presence through acqui- sitions as well as starting operations in underserved areas. From there, we focused on expanding and building upon our independent retail pharmacy customer base. Today, a significant portion of our business comes from H.D. Smith (Cont'd. from p. 1) institutions, alternate sites of care (e.g., long-term care, infusion centers, physi- cian offices) and specialty. Most recently, we've focused on comple- mentary business solutions and servic- es needed to support the healthcare products that we sell. Our initial solu- tions and services focused on Rx rapid distribution programs, OTC/Home Health product promotion, independent pharmacy store branding and Pharmacy Service Administration Organization (PSAO) solutions. Today, we offer a robust solutions and services portfolio that also includes marketing/ad agency services to assist our customers in max- imizing their business operations in their markets. Additionally, we launched H.D. Smith Specialty Solutions, an umbrella organization that aligns specialty and traditional brand products, solutions and services in order to provide an end-to-end serv- ice value chain touching all aspects of prescription medication distribution and support, from clinical trials to physician education to patient treat- ment to reimbursement to adherence and compliance. Each expansion effort has been pred- icated on customer needs and demands, with the singular goal of helping our cus- tomers best care for their patients. H.D. Smith's success can be directly linked to its customer focus—anticipating the needs of an ever-changing market. H.D. Smith is large enough to make a differ- ence, and nimble enough to create col- laboration. This has set H.D. Smith apart in the industry. For more information, visit www.hdsmith.com, call 866-232-1222 or email help@hdsmith.com. full-suite of capabilities brands need to succeed in the OTC healthcare space. CDD: Who will benefit most from your services? GB: Our clients all have one thing in common. They have OTC healthcare brands and want to win in the market- place. These include Rx to OTC switch- es; new brands that require great launch execution and existing brands trying to optimize their performance in the mar- ketplace. Our clients like the fact that our capabilities in strategic planning, com- plete supply chain execution and HQ and retail selling provide them with a one- stop shop, turnkey solution. CDD: You've been in business more than a year now. How is it going? GB: Well, we are extremely busy, so I guess that's a good thing! We continue to add new clients and most recently we supported OraSure Technologies and its OTC launch of OraQuick ® , the first FDA-approved oral swab in-home test for HIV-1 and HIV-2. It's an oral swab test that doesn't require blood. It's com- pletely private. And it's based on the same HIV test that healthcare profession- als have used since 2004. This is obvi- ously a great opportunity for both retail- ers and public health. CDD: That sounds great. Anything else new in 2013? GB: Yes. We have also just announced a partnership with Westport Pharma- ceuticals and our planned national launch Advantage Consumer (Cont'd. from p. 1) of Zephrex-D™, a tamper-resistant PSE formulated decongestant that provides powerful decongestant relief for con- sumers while protecting against the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine. We ran a very successful test market in St. Louis and are now planning to launch nationally later this year. We believe this will also be game changing innovation as it gives consumers the powerful conges- tion relief they need while also offering powerful community protection. We also expect to announce a major launch in women's health later this year. So as I said, we are very busy but also incredibly fortunate to be able to launch such impor- tant innovation. CDD: Those are impressive results. What makes Advantage CH different? GB: I think it comes down to two simple things. First, our experience and dedication to the OTC healthcare space is significant. Our management team has launched and managed more than 45 brands, including 6 Switches. We used to sit in the same chair our clients are sitting in now and that gives us a very unique understanding of the OTC marketplace and our clients' needs. Second, our full service model including strategic planning, sales execution and complete supply chain management gives clients a turnkey one stop shop. We then merged this know-how and focused capa- bilities with the best-in-class resources of Advantage Sales & Marketing. The result is a comprehensive, effective and efficient solution for OTC healthcare brands. To learn more, visit Advantage Consumer Healthcare in booth 368 at NACDS Annual Meeting or online at www .advantagechc.com. with facilities designed to uphold the rig- orous requirements of safe and compliant manufacturing. Roxane's manufacturing facilities are located in Columbus, Ohio, where it employs more than 1,000 peo- ple. Roxane is proud to provide both jobs and affordable generic pharmaceuticals to Americans nationwide. Roxane is also Roxane Laboratories (Cont'd. from p. 17) a proud corporate citizen eager to partic- ipate in activities that improve the eco- nomic and social well-being of American communities, such as the Cancer Support Community. Roxane Laboratories is proud to be your partner in generics. For more information about Roxane Laboratories and to view a complete product catalog, visit www.roxane.com.