Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/265897
C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y M o n d a y, A u g u s t 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 5 2 SureComfort line consists of insulin syringes, pen needles, lancets and lancing pen, alcohol prep pads, and we've recently added safety lancets to the line. CDD: What products do you see as being hottest this year? LF: We see a trend toward pen needles since more insurance companies are now covering insulin pens and needles. We have one of the most extensive offerings in the pen needle category, which now includes the new Micron (32G x 4mm), which was added to the SureComfort line last summer. CDD: What is your outlook in general for this product line? LF: The statistics on the number of people living with diabetes and the number of pre-diabetic patients in the United States is staggering. As an industry, we need to focus on how to work with the diabetic community to ensure that their needs are met at the retail pharmacy level. The outlook for the product line is excellent because we have some outstanding retail part- ners who are seeing the value in a two Allison Medical (Cont'd. from p. 1) or three tiered offering. CDD: What do you anticipate to be your greatest challenge in the year ahead? LF: The greatest challenge is going to depend on what happens with the future of health care. There are a lot of questions about the Affordable Care Act that have not been answered. It will be extremely challenging to stay ahead of the changes and respond appropriately as an industry. CDD: What particular products will you showcase at the show? LF: We want to be sure everyone knows about the SureComfort Micron Pen Needle (32G x 4mm). It has just become available this summer and, as the thinnest and shortest pen needle available in the line, we are excited to get the word out. CDD: How can our readers find out more about your company? LF: Visit our website at www.allison medical.com. For more information, visit booth 4718, go online to www.allisonmedical.com, call 800-886-1618 or email info@allisonmedical.com. CEO, Hi-Tech Pharmacal. "Particularly in our ability to drive sales while still making significant increases in our commitment to impor- tant long-term strategic initiatives like Research and Development, manufac- turing and supply chain integration, and a continual improvement in cus- tomer service and support." Hi-Tech has the expertise necessary to develop and manufacture liquid and semi-solid dosage forms, as well as nasal sprays— such as Fluticasone Propionate, generic for Flonase ® — and products that require sterile manufacturing. Hi-Tech currently has 15 products submitted to the FDA pending approval, including partnered prod- ucts, and approximately 20 products in various stages of development. These products represent approximately $6.3 billion in branded sales, and include dosage forms ranging from oral liquids to ophthalmics. This is consistent with the company's mission to continually expand its range of products, dosage forms, and packaging configurations. Additionally, Hi-Tech is now well- established in the development of its Unit Dose program, with four offerings currently on the market, and four more planned for introduction in the next nine months. To support such an ambitious and dynamic pipeline, Hi-Tech maintains an ongoing program of growing its R&D efforts. This year alone, the com- pany has increased its expenditures in Research and Development by over 50 percent in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013. The Company has increased spending on internal projects for the generic division, which include five projects that require clinical trials. Clinical trials for two of these projects are currently ongoing. Successful launches have included Levofloxacin Ophthalmic Solution, Gabapentin Oral Solution (under 180- day exclusivity), Lidocaine Jelly 2%, Hi-Tech Pharmacal (Cont'd. from p. 1) Ranitidine Syrup, Levetiracetam Oral Concentrate, and Levofloxacin Oral Solution (also under 180-day exclusivi- ty). Levofloxacin Oral Solution is the generic for Levaquin ® . Hi-Tech's branded subsidiary, ECR, offers a broad range of products indicat- ed for the treatment of allergies, headaches and dermatitis/poison ivy. This effort is supported with a growing sales force of full-time field representa- tives. Current brands include DexPak ® , Bupap ® , Tussi-Caps ® , Orbivan ® , Zolpimist ® and Zolvit ® . Additionally, Hi-Tech Pharmacal offers a range of well-known OTC brands like Zostrix ® through its sub- sidiary HCP. HCP's primary focus is on the fast-growing diabetes specialty mar- ket, with offerings like Diabetic Tussin ® and Diabeti-Derm ® . "We're committed to finding ways to deliver value at Hi-Tech," Seltzer noted. "We're driven by the same core values we established when the company was founded in 1981— focus, innova- tion, confidence and trust." Seltzer exhibits the confidence that comes with success. "We remain very optimistic about our future," he said. "We see tremendous opportunity ahead of us as our generics pipeline is more robust than ever." Ed Berrios, Hi-Tech Vice President of Sales and Marketing, added, "One of the most important things we can do for our customers is to continue to grow our portfolio of key and niche products. Adding new dosage forms and technical capabili- ties, developing new products— everything we do is about helping our customers help their patients." "We understand that the pharmacies aren't just our customers, they're our partners in business," Berrios continued. "We make sure that their success and sat- isfaction is always at the top of our busi- ness goals." For more information, visit booth 4423 or go online to www.hitechpharm.com. dispensing errors. It is a must-see new technology at NACDS Total Store Expo (Kirby Lester exhibit 4728). Since Kirby Lester released its first counting machine in 1971, mil- lions of pharmacists and technicians worldwide have benefited from more accurate and more efficient dis- pensing technology. The company kept improving counting devices over the years, making the pharmacy staff 's job even easier with each new model. The KL1Plus is the culmination of many years of experience and exten- sive interviews with customers. It combines the best-selling KL1 simple tablet counter with streamlined phar- macy verification software. The KL1Plus is everything a retail pharma- cy needs to count medications and pro- tect against errors. The KL1Plus ensures that all phar- macy orders—tablets, capsules and unit- of-use items— are verified so the patient gets the right medication, dose and quan- tity every time. The pharmacy technician simply scans the barcode on the patient's Rx label and then scans the correspon- ding stock bottle or package to make sure there's a match. "There is absolutely no reason why a pharmacy can't afford to verify 100 percent of orders now that the KL1Plus has been developed," says Kirby Lester President Kirby Lester (Cont'd. from p. 1) and CEO Garry Zage, RPh. "The KL1Plus truly is the complete package." The KL1Plus hits a "sweet spot" for pharmacies that want more than a tablet counter but less than fully loaded dispensing software or robotics. At 8 pounds and about the footprint of a counting tray, the KL1Plus is designed to fit tight pharmacy workspaces and budgets. Using the KL1Plus to count and verify every prescription is simple; in fact, dispensing and verifying an order with a KL1Plus is faster than counting with a tray and spatula. The product, too, is especially effective for large 90-day fills. Kirby Lester alone offers your pharmacies a full line of pharmacy automation options – from simple counting devices, to scan-verification software, to hassle-free robotics. Kirby Lester has figured out what chain phar- macies today really need, so the compa- ny provides plenty of options to bring in the right level of automation for each individual location, build a lasting part- nership with the customer, keep every- thing affordable and keep the technolo- gy simple. Kirby Lester's full line of automation solutions is on display this week at exhibit 4728. For more information, visit booth 4728, go online to www.kirbylester.com, call 800-641-3961 or email sales@ kirbylester.com. insights into the proportion of pharma- cy customers who divide their prescrip- tion business with other retailers – the so-called Splitters; how Splitters are distributed by patient demographics, payment method, class of trade, and therapy; and the share of patient RXs being achieved by patient demographic. With this information, retailers can understand not only what is happening inside their stores, but can evaluate performance in the context of what is happening outside their stores as well. Tracking Anonymized Patients The leadership of one retailer recently sought help identifying and monitoring market performance. To do so, they wanted to use patient-centric metrics as key performance indicators. To conduct the research, IMS Health drew upon its anonymized, longitudinal database reflecting the prescription-pur- chasing behaviors of over 205 million patients. This database allows for the tracking of patients over time, across all therapeutic categories, and wherever pre- scriptions are filled. Discovering Opportunity Via these market and customer insights, the retailer was able to learn about patient loyalty patterns while discovering opportunities for growth. Specifically: Splitters fill more pre- scriptions overall than loyal customers and so represent greater potential. A disproportionate number of loyal cus- tomers are in certain demographic groups and the patients who divide their pharmacy business are spending only half of their prescription dollars with the retailer. In this example, non- loyal customers represented enormous business potential. If the company were to gain just one more prescription per quarter for each non-loyal cus- tomer, this business alone would trans- late into tens of millions of additional annual revenue. Winning Non-Loyal Customers With an understanding of the business opportunity lost to Splitters, the com- pany embarked on a campaign to improve loyalty and gain a greater share of the Splitter's wallet. As a result, the company converted 10 percent of its non-loyal customers into Loyals, achieving a 5 percent increase in Rx volume in just six months. While many in the industry maintain that it is not possible to alter a cus- tomer 's buying patterns, the data proved otherwise. For more information, visit booth 2125. Contact IMS Health at www.imshealth.com, 610-244-2000 or kborzillo@us.imshealth.com. IMS Health (Cont'd. from p. 1)