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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 8 , 2 0 1 6 1 4 IMPROVE BRAIN HEALTH WITH FOCUS FACTOR An interview with Jack Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Synergy CHC Corp. CDD: Tell our readers how long ago you acquired the brand and why you pur- chased it. JR: We acquired FOCUSfactor ® in February of 2015. We felt the brand was a good fit for our company since our focus is in the health and wellness space. Additionally, we were looking for a brand that had a strong reputation for quality and performance that was backed by science. CDD: Describe what makes FOCUSfactor unique in the category. JR: FOCUSfactor contains a patented blend of neuro-nutrients that has been clinically tested using a double-blinded, place-controlled clinical study, resulting in FOCUSfactor improving memory, concentration and focus. Additionally, FOCUSfactor has the distinction of being America's No. 1 brain health supplement with more than six million bottles sold in over 10 years. CDD: Who did the clinical study for FOCUSfactor? JR: The study was conducted by Cognitive Research Corporation, a lead- ing clinical research organization in August of 2011 under the guidelines and protocol of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The double-blinded, placebo-con- trolled clinical study was conducted under the leadership of Dr. Gary Kay, a foremost expert in neuropsychology, and independ- ently reviewed by Dr. Keith Wesnes, lead- ing expert in cognition, whose role was to verify the clinical's conclusion. CDD: Can you provide some insight into the clinical and some of the key findings? JR: The clinical set out to measure changes in memory, concentration, atten- tion and focus which ran for a period of six weeks. The results showed that healthy adults who followed the study protocol showed significant improve- ment in memory, concentration and focus. The effects were par- ticularly pronounced in what we call "working memory." Specifically, one of the test results showed a significant improvement in recall of 44 percent, from 4.5 words to 6.5 words. CDD: Is the brain health supplement cat- egory getting crowded? JR: There are a number of new products looking to capitalize on the growth of brain health category. However, FOCUSfactor is the only brand to have a patented formula with a rigorous third- party clinical study that actually improves memory, concentration and focus when taken as directed. No other brand or product can make this claim, nor has any been on the market as long as FOCUSfactor. CDD: Can you tell our readers about your marketing plans? JR: Our plans are to drive awareness and trial behind FOCUSfactor leveraging its unique set of cognitive benefits. We first started by developing promotional pro- grams with our existing retail partners to help drive sales within their stores. We then gave FOCUSfactor a new, more impactful look that started rolling out in stores this past April. We have also started working on new and innovative line extensions for later this year, including FOCUSfactor for Kids, FOCUSfactor Extra Strength and FOCUSfactor Brain & Vision. Probably the most exciting component of our mar- keting plan is the development of a nation- al advertising campaign rolling out this fall leveraging our recently signed Albert Einstein license. We truly believe this will take FOCUSfactor to the next level. CDD: What are your thoughts on the future of the brain health category? JR: The category is poised for significant growth over the next three to five years. All the trends tell us that brain health will grow to similar levels as the eye health and joint health categories, with FOCUSfactor leading the way. For more information, visit booth #2251. Sales inquiries should contact Al Baumeler at 561.383.1102 or via email at al@synergychc.com. PAR PHARMACEUTICAL: UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY, VALUE Since 1978, Par Pharmaceutical has been at the forefront of developing, manufac- turing, marketing and distributing safe, innovative and cost-effective pharmaceu- ticals that help improve patient quality of life. Every week in America, several mil- lion Par prescriptions are dispensed. In return for the trust that is placed in the company, it is committed to providing products of uncompromising quality. In fulfilling this mission, it delivers value to its customers and the physicians and patients that rely on it. In September 2015, Endo International plc acquired Par Pharmaceutical, merging the business with Endo's Qualitest, thereby expanding the generics business to a top five indus- try leader. Endo develops, manufactures, markets and distributes quality branded pharmaceutical, generic and device prod- ucts through its operating companies. Endo has global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and U.S. headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Today, Par Pharmaceutical's sales place it among the top four largest gener- ic pharmaceutical companies in the United States. Par conducts manufactur- ing in the United States and abroad, and markets and/or licenses more than 200 prescription drug product families. At Par, its most important resource is the talent and dedication of its more than 3,700 professionals, in offices in Chestnut Ridge, New York; Irvine, California; Rochester, Michigan; Stratford, Connecticut; Chennai, India; Montebello, New York; Huntsville, Alabama; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Each employee is part of a culture that values integrity, customer focus, team- work, innovation and performance. Since the beginning of 2015, Par has acquired Ethics Bio Lab Pvt Ltd, an India-based contract research organiza- tion that conducts bioavailability, bioe- quivalence, pharmacokinetic and clini- cal endpoint studies, and Innoteq, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of inno- vative-coated products, including oral- ly dissolving thin films and transder- mal patches. Par possesses one of the most promising new product pipelines in the generic drug industry, with more than 114 products awaiting FDA approval, including almost 35 first-to- files, and more than 300 other products in development. In recent years, the company has introduced generic ver- sions of several major pharmaceutical products, including the following: Dantrolene Sodium Caps (Dantrium ® ), Frovatriptan Succinate Tabs (Frova ® ), Darifenacin HBr ER Tabs (Enablex ® ), Dutasteride and Tamsulosin HCl Caps (Jalyn ® ) and Testosterone Gel 1% (Androgel ® ). Visit Par Pharmaceutical at booth #517. For more information, go to www.parpharm.com. QUALITY AND INNOVATION FROM PURACAP An interview with Mark B. Bolling, Vice President of Business Development, Puracap Pharmaceutical. CDD: What is driving the popularity of store brands? MB: I think consumers have become wildly more accepting to store brands as they trust the quality much more. They see all major retailers have great- ly endorsed their store brands and spread the concept throughout every category and segment. I also think dur- ing the economic downturn consumers had to manage their disposable incomes even closer and they really gave store brands a hard look. The market data suggests most consumers were more than satisfied and continued to add other products to their medicine cabi- nets in the store brand arena. I think they are seeing at store level more impactful formulations/first to market offerings – packaging – delivery sys- tems and in-store marketing than ever before. CDD: What are retailers looking for from their store brand suppliers? MB: Retailers are placing much higher levels of demands on store brand suppli- ers. They are insisting on first to market new innovations in formulas, delivery systems, packaging and in category and in-store marketing initiatives. Retailers are looking more and more for the store brand suppliers to lead the way on inno- vation and place many of the same requirements that are placed on national brands. This has in my opinion greatly accelerated the quality and innova- tion in store brands. Retailers are also looking for store brands to con- tinue to deliver higher margins ver- sus national brands and challenging the store brand manufacturing com- munity to innovate in manufactur- ing and supply chain to drive costs downward. On the flip side of that equa- tion is as store brand manufacturers cre- ate innovation, we have been able to increase price points that consumers are accepting and balance our cost savings with improved margin integrity. CDD: What can PuraCap offer to retail- ers and their customers? MB: Puracap Pharmaceutical is a U.S.- based pharmaceutical company and part of the Humanwell Healthcare family. Humanwell Healthcare is a publically traded corporation with more than 35 global healthcare companies. Therefore, Puracap Pharmaceutical is well backed financially and able to make the invest- ments to drive quality, innovation and best in class manufacturing and supply chain. Puracap is one of the leading global manufactur- ers of soft gels, all manufactured in our state of the art new facility in Wuhan, China. We were the first China manufacturing site to enter the U.S. retail market with OTC. Puracap will be launching several key new ANDAs in 2016 and expect to pace along going forward with other key RX to OTC switches in future years. Puracap Pharmaceutical also operates branded RX and Generic Rx divisions and will continue making additional acquisitions over the next year to grow those busi- nesses greatly. The Wuhan soft gel man- ufacturing site also had its first U.S. – FDA site audit in 2015 and no violations were recorded. Our facility is also audit- ed annually by UL, Intertek and several major U.S. retailer social compliance audits. Visit Puracap at booth #1681.