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Chain Drugstore Daily Saturday, April 22, 2017 2 8 Founded in 2014 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Xilang is in Scottsdale for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores' Annual Meeting to discuss the company's plans to broaden its services in the specialty space with current and prospective clients. "At Xilang, we win when our clients grow their business, improve their mar- ket position and increase their overall value in the pharmacy space," Lang says. "Our clients truly value the strategies we provide and routinely engage with us for multiple projects based on the value we can provide." "We assess your market position, create a new strategy and execute quickly," she continues. "Our focus is value, supported by sophisticated ana- lytics, that creates improved econom- Xilang (Cont'd. from p. 1) ics for you and your clients that drive growth." A different type of consulting serv- ice, Xilang has the ability to navigate a complex market and drive discussions to get to the best answer and right solu- tion for its clients. "We custom design every strategy to fit your market posi- tion, vision and culture so you can achieve sustainable growth that drives financial value," Lang says. "Retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit man- agers, specialty/biotech drug manufactur- ers, wholesalers, generic companies and brand drug manufacturers all have needs that call for our skills at devising strate- gies through discussion and debate that can withstand the challenges presented by a rapidly evolving marketplace." For more information, call 314.682.6110 or go to www.xilangconsulting.com. the berry-based sleep aid and adding three new delivery systems, including liquid shots. During their research over the last five months, the company saw the same need that it witnessed in the sleep catego- ry with the energy category. The research results were overwhelmingly in favor of a natural product that had the same effi- ciency and performance of the energy products on the market today. Healthy Ventures has assembled a strong CPG Lean Team to aid or run up and coming branded companies. It cre- ates strong innovative brands like Schiff Vitamins, Power Bar, Oral-B Products, Nestle Products, brand builder of No. 1 Freeze Dried Crunchies Naturals, the innovative Berry Sleepy and now Berry Awake. Berry Sleepy is made up of a propri- etary sleep and relaxation blend; all-nat- ural tart cherries, passion fruit, goji berries and valerian root extract. The base of this formula is all berries with 5 grams of prebiotics. Berry Awake is made up of a propri- etary energy blend of green coffee berries extract, guarana seed extract, bacopa leaf extract and ginseng. In addition, the com- pany added 2000mg of pea protein. Products are kosher, non-GMO, vegan and Manufactured in USA. Berry Sleepy will come in 60-count bottle veg caps for $19.99 MSRP, 24- count at $9.99, One Single Serve 99 cents, Two Serving Blister Package at $2.39 and 2-ounce Berry Sleepy Shots in Healthy Ventures (Cont'd. from p. 1) Strawberry and Mixed natural flavors for $3.99. Berry Awake will come in 2-ounce Berry Awake Shots and will be available in Strawberry and Mixed Berry natural flavors. They will be line priced with Berry Sleepy at $3.99 each. Berry Sleepy and Berry Awake launch at Expo West 2017, NACDS 2017, Expo East 2017 and NACS 2017. The products will be supported with a strong print campaign in various trade magazines this fall. The company will place major focus on the consumer with Modern Living with Kathy Ireland, Entertainment Television and Bloomberg International. On the topic of sleep innovations, the company will be interviewed by Kathy Ireland on Berry Sleepy and the innova- tion of Berry Awake. Supported with social media globally, the company will be on TV in all major markets beginning in October of 2017. Upcoming for the company are direct mail coupons and a new website in July 2017 with major focus on Facebook and other social media event campaigns. The company will also step up its marketing events with major sponsors of trade shows and focus on grassroots marketing events, both domestic and international, all focused on moving to a leadership position in the natural sleep category. For more information, email james @berrysleepy.com or james@healthy ventures.com, or call 805.601.7201 or 805.390.6274. department sizes at retail? MH: Despite on-going channel pres- sures that have threatened space for all media categories in the retail market- place, physical books have demon- strated a clear sustainability. U.S. print book readership remains strong, and as a result, many retailers are investing in additional book space. Where space has been lost due to initiatives to add more fresh foods and convenience items, retailers have increased focus on seasonal and promotional outposts. CDD: How can Readerlink help to drive book sales? MH: Readerlink creates a customized book program for each of its retail part- ners, featuring weekly new releases and recognizable children's licenses that make the category relevant and topical to customers. Because we serve all the leading drug, grocery, mass, club, airport and specialty chains in the United States, we know what licenses, price points and formats work best in each channel. We continually analyze sales data and make adjustments to optimize each program to maximize sales. CDD: What do you see as the biggest opportunity for retailers in the book cate- gory? MH: Books are an impulse-driven cate- gory, so seasonal aisle placement is the best opportunity to drive incremental Readerlink (Cont'd. from p. 1) sales. Chains participating in seasonal programs, whether they be Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Back to School or Christmas, see sales lifts ranging from 22 to 40 percent. Books are a per- fect fit in any seasonal program because they remain the third most gifted item overall, behind only gift cards and cloth- ing. Readerlink works with more than 500 publishers, so we can create a sea- sonal program with trays or floor dis- plays designed to fit nearly any space requirements that meet the needs of any retailer. CDD: Where are some of the other areas that retailers are seeing success in book sales? MH: Because of the wide breadth of licenses, price points, formats and gen- res, books do not need to live in just the book department; they can be cross-mer- chandised in almost every area in the store. Whether it's board books in the baby department or near greeting cards for baby shower presents, pet books in the pet aisle, cookbooks in grocery or coloring and activity books at checkout, books can be merchandised anywhere in the store to help drive up the average bas- ket size. Our research shows that books placed adjacent to food and other GM items will help the consumers to pur- chase those items in addition to the book. The best way to sell crockpots is to have a slow cooker recipe book next to the device. For more information, go to www.reader link.com, call 708.547.4408 or email mhesselbach@readerlink.com. AKARI THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES FDA FAST TRACK DESIGNATION FOR COVERSIN Akari Therapeutics, an emerging growth, clinical-stage biopharmaceuti- cal company, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for Coversin™ for treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) in patients who have polymorphisms con- ferring eculizumab resistance. Coversin is a second-generation complement inhibitor that acts on complement com- ponent-C5, preventing the release of C5a and the formation of C5b–9 (also known as the membrane attack complex or MAC), and independently also inhibits LTB4 activity. "We are very proud of the continued advancement of our Coversin program for the treatment of PNH in patients with or without polymorphisms," said Dr. Gur Roshwalb, Chief Executive Officer of Akari Therapeutics. "The FDA fast track designation recognizes the unmet need in patients with PNH who cannot be treated with the current standard of care due to polymorphisms." Akari is evaluating Coversin in two Phase 2 clinical trials. The first Phase 2 trial is evaluating Coversin in patients with PNH who have never received a complement blocking therapy. Interim results from this ongoing Phase 2 trial will be presented at the recently announced Research and Development Day to be held on April 24, 2017 in New York. The second Phase 2 trial is evaluat- ing Coversin in patients with PNH and C5 polymorphisms resistant to eculizum- ab. One patient has been enrolled in this trial and has demonstrated significant LDH reduction and complete comple- ment blockade with self-administered subcutaneous Coversin for over one year. The Fast Track program was created by the FDA to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs which show promise in treating a serious or life-threatening disease and address an unmet medical need. Drugs that receive this designation benefit from more fre- quent communications and meetings with FDA to review the drug's develop- ment plan, including the design of the proposed clinical trials, use of biomark- ers and the extent of data needed for approval. Drugs with Fast Track Designation may qualify for priority review to expedite the FDA review process, if relevant criteria are met. About Akari Therapeutics Plc Akari is a clinical-stage biopharmaceuti- cal company focused on the develop- ment and commercialization of life- transforming treatments for a range of rare and orphan autoimmune and inflam- matory diseases caused by dysregulation of complement C5 and Leukotriene B4 (LTB4), including paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria ("PNH"), atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome ("aHUS"), and Guillain Barré syndrome ("GBS"). Akari's lead product candidate, Coversin complement inhibitor, a second-genera- tion complement inhibitor, acts on com- plement component-C5, preventing the release of C5a and the formation of C5b–9 (also known as the membrane attack complex or MAC), and independ- ently also inhibits LTB4 activity. C5 inhibition is growing in importance in a range of rare autoimmune diseases relat- ed to dysregulation of the complement component of the immune system, including PNH, aHUS and GBS. Exploiting the power of nature, Akari is also developing other tick derived pro- teins and expects to bring additional compounds to clinical trials over the next several years. The pipeline is focused on developing bioengineered versions of native tick salivary proteins that act as anti-inflammatory compounds allowing the tick to remain on its host.