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Chain Drugstore Daily 1 1 Sunday, April 23, 2017 CAMBER'S PIPELINE FEATURES PRODUCTS FROM NEW U.S. FACILITY In addition to Camber's recent launch of Fenofibrate (Tricor ® ) 48mg/90ct and 145mg/90ct, the new pipeline includes several controlled substances and future products from Hetero's new Ascent Pharmaceuticals facility in Central Islip, Long Island, New York. Products sched- uled to launch in the first and second quarter of 2017 include: Ibuprofen (Motrin ® ) 400, 600 and 800 mg; Dronabinol (Marinol ® ) 2.5, 5 and 10 mg; Omega-3 Acid Ethyl Ester (Lovaza ® ) 1 gram; Oxycodone HCl and APAP (Oxycodone and Acetaminophen ® ) 2.5/325; 5/325; 7.5/325 and 10/32 mg. Camber's current portfolio includes 47 products (164 SKUs), 41 of which are manufactured by Hetero Drugs, two manufactured by Ascent Pharmaceuticals and four by a contract manufacturer. Camber's future pipeline includes 55 ANDAs filed/under review and 15-plus ANDAs projected for release in 2017. With well over 1 million square feet of new manufacturing and warehouse space added in India and its new U.S. facilities, Hetero now has more than 2.5 mil- lion square feet dedicat- ed solely to the U.S. market. Plus, it is more than 90 percent vertically integrated on all its products. In addition to its highly competitive portfolio, Camber is noted for its strong supply chain, exceptional customer serv- ice and a dedicated team of seasoned sales professionals with deep experience in the generics industry. Its goal is to pro- vide a sustainable, long-term competitive advantage to cus- tomers. Camber's com- mitment to the patient is to bring the highest quality generic phar- maceuticals to the market to improve quality of life through cost-effective medications. Visit Camber Pharmaceuticals at booth #638. For more information, contact Megan Becker at 732.529.0436 or by email at mbecker@camberpharma.com, go to www.camberpharma.com or call 732.529.0430. DAVID BIERNBAUM SUCCESSFUL AND "SMART!" By Tara Kane, Director, Retail Communications David Biernbaum is Founder and President at David Biernbaum & Associates LLC., Consumer Goods Marketing, National Retail Sales, Consulting, and Equity Development. Since 1977, David Biernbaum and his teams have achieved remarkable suc- cess delivering brand-equity for client- companies, retail partners and more than 200 consumer products on today's shelves, mostly health and wellness cate- gory expanders. Since January of 2016, David Biernbaum heads up business develop- ment and strategic retail sales and market- ing for the SmartMouth oral rinse brand. Previously, Biernbaum was strictly a con- sultant for SmartMouth since 2010. Under Biernbaum's skilled brand- development leadership in 2016, SmartMouth oral rinses have grown to become a $21 MM brand, up 47 percent year over year, (IRI Data Ending 1/22/2017) and SmartMouth's trends continue to accelerate into 2017, up 70 percent year over year through February, 2017. As a company, growth is up more than 57 percent in just over a year. Biernbaum summarizes SmartMouth's retail mission, "SmartMouth expands retail oral health solutions with innovation, sci- ence and technology, to create incremental category growth, premium profits and exceptional shelf-space productivity." Recently, Biernbaum sent out a retail-executive newsletter stating that 2016 was a giant step forward with record sales, but cautioned that this was only a foretaste of the brand's rapid growth and expansion; "The SmartMouth brand is delivering on all key initiatives; SmartMouth is driving category expan- sion, innovation, elite technology and sci- ence, advanced oral health solutions; all supported with aggressive marketing. The brand provides retail partners superior shelf-space productivity, unparalleled customer loyalty." Biernbaum explains the "Smart Marketing" approach; "We instituted the practice of targeting behavioral markets, expanding to platforms that enable SmartMouth to inform and educate chron- ic sufferers of bad breath the real causes, and how "Smart Science" actually works, and why SmartMouth's technology is the solution for not only eliminating, but also preventing bad breath from returning, for 12 hours with each rinse." Biernbaum points not only to aggressive TV, radio and print marketing, but also, he explains, "an in-house every-day non- stop relentless approach with digital media that successfully 'finds con- sumers,' even moreso than traditional reliance on consumers finding the brand!" Biernbaum explains success is accelerating since taking control over the brand's own website rather than out- sourcing that functionality. Biernbaum gives a lot of credit for success to the client. "First and foremost, SmartMouth is an amazing oral rinse that delivers on its promise. The brand loyal- ty is off the charts." Additionally, Biernbaum shares credit with his SmartMouth associates. "Last year, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Burch put his trust and confi- dence in me, personally and professional- ly, and that in itself was all I needed for motivation. I'm blessed to have a hard- working, very talented team to work with at the company, and of course, in the field with my independent network of very loyal brokers, many whom I've worked with for decades, with two and three gen- erations!" Biernbaum has other currently suc- cessful clients, too, including Australian Dream, makers of arthritis and back pain creams, and now a newly released for- mula for carpal tunnel pain relief, already on the shelves at CVS Pharmacy and other retail chains. For more information, email david@ biernbaum.com or go to www.biernbaum .com or www.smartmouth.com. WEATHERING REIMBURSEMENT HEADWINDS By Jeff Pepperworth, President, Inmar Healthcare Network The turbulence created by rising healthcare costs is arguably greatest in the pharmacy reimbursement ecosystem where head- winds include falling reimbursement rates, fluctuating acquisition costs and increasing fees and DIR. There are, however, robust solutions available from Inmar to help PSAOs, independent and chain pharma- cies better manage their financial health in the face of these blustery conditions: Pharmacy Performance Analytics, Price Optimization and Carrier P&L. Reimbursement assessment is essen- tial. Since Q1 2015, average brand reim- bursement rates on standard days of sup- ply have fallen 2.3 percent while extend- ed day rates have fallen 1.6 percent. Generic reimbursement rates on standard days of supply and extended day rates have fared no better – falling 14.9 per- cent and 18.3 percent, respectively. Given these declines, it is essential that pharmacies fully understand which plans are most relevant to their business and to patient coverage. Those that rely on Inmar to help with this assessment gain a much greater understanding, because Inmar, as the reconciliation claims processor for 25 percent of the market, is uniquely positioned to benchmark reim- bursements rates and plans against the industry as a whole. Inmar helps pharma- cies develop customized, individual strategies to improve reimbursements. Effective pricing must be a priority. It's true that drug prices are increasing, but the increases are limited to brand drugs. While the average acquisition cost for brand drugs across the Inmar network has increased 20.6 percent over the past 20 months, there has also been 15 percent deflation in generic acquisition costs. As a result, modest gains in generic prescription profitability have been swept away by margin decreases from brand drugs, especially those for extended day pre- scriptions. This volatility in acquisition costs – and the proliferation of high deductible health plans – demands that pharmacies optimize drug inventory while establishing appropriate U&C pric- ing. Pharmacies that leverage Inmar's Pharmacy Performance Analytics and Price Optimization solutions can suc- cessfully navigate "unequal" reimburse- ment, and stock products for maximum profitability. Combating DIR is critical. No com- mentary on the current state of pharmacy reimbursement would be complete with- out mention of service fees and Direct and Indirect Remuneration (DIR). With the introduction of new service fees like Caremark's TSMRSF fee and the proliferation of DIR across the Part D landscape, the percentage of sales represented by service fees and DIR doubled between 2015 to 2016, In 2015, these fees accounted for 0.4 percent of sales; in 2016, the pro- portion grew to 0.85 percent. Depending on the scope of a phar- macy's network participation, this num- ber can creep to well over one percent of sales. Inmar's new Carrier P&L solution helps combat this creep by providing actionable, granular insight into services fees and DIR at the carrier and carrier- group levels. By helping forecast DIR, this tool empowers clients to make more intelligent business decisions and negoti- ate more effectively with carriers. Conditions are threatening and the forecast uncertain, but Inmar offers pro- tection from the elements. Visit Inmar at booth #334. For more information, call 866.440.6917 or email solutions@inmar.com.