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Chain Drugstore Daily Monday, April 24, 2017 1 8 AMNEAL THRIVES ON CUSTOMER FEEDBACK When it comes to customer responsive- ness, most companies talk the talk – but how many prove they can actually walk the walk? Amneal Pharmaceuticals is one. Now on the brink of its 10th anniversary, this generic pharmaceutical powerhouse is proud of the track record it's built. Not only does Amneal listen intently to customers and patients, it acts on that feedback with speed and zeal. In fact, it won't rest until an issue is resolved. Not convinced? Check out these three examples. Breaking Out of the Pack Amneal recently launched the first gener- ic for a popular menopause remedy. Each applicator comes in individual blisters on a perforated card – but there was a rub. Some patients reported it was difficult to separate a single blister from the card without ripping the foil backing on adja- cent units. That was all Amneal needed to hear. Co-Chief Executive Officer Chintu Patel promptly invested $2 million in new packing equipment to remedy the issue and ensure a smoother tear. Product sporting the new, improved blister cards should start shipping sometime in May. Thinking Single Another scenario happened a few years ago with a product that was cello- wrapped in packs of five cartons. Customers were limited to purchas- ing the product in increments of five – not always ideal when wholesalers and distributors looked to fill an order of a different quantity. In response to initial comments, Amneal immediately set out on a plan to eliminate the overwrap. It updated the NDC to reflect the new saleable size, reconfigured how the out- sert was positioned and began selling this product in single packs – much to the delight of wholesaler, distributor and pharmacy buyers. A Nose for Product Improvement Several years ago, Amneal launched a popular diabetes drug with an API known throughout the industry for its unpleasant smell. Sadly, pharmacists and patients agreed that the active ingredi- ent made it a "hard pill to stom- ach." Something had to change. When Amneal received that feedback from customers and patients, it set its formulation team on a mission to mitigate the scent. In less than a year, it introduced a new version of the product with a more pleas- ing berry scent and flavor. When Amneal hears it could make a product or its packaging better for its cus- tomers and their patients, the company's solution-focused wheels immediately kick into high gear. The quest for contin- uous improvement is a fundamental part of the Amneal culture, so when it delivers the solution, it's like hitting a home run. For more information, visit booth #302 or go to www.amneal.com. BETTER BUSINESS RESULTS By Patty Basche, Director, U.S. Client Services, Advantage Group International Collaboration leads to better business results. You can't manage what you don't measure. For more than 25 years, Advantage Group International has helped retailers and suppliers bench- mark their performance versus their competitors to uncover their strengths and opportunities. Our best-in-class analysis based on tens of thousands of comments from retailers and suppliers will help you identify the behaviors and traits to improve performance. There is a reason why more than 36,000 industry professionals at more than 500 retailers and suppliers in more than 40 countries use Advantage Report™ to measure and improve busi- ness performance. It works! Here's what our customers say: Retailer: "We actually have very good conversations with some key suppliers leveraging the Advantage report to devel- op an action plan for improvement for the following year. One of the suppliers brought the survey results and we looked at how we could work best together, what best in class looks like and what others are doing." Retailer: "It was a wake-up call that we were not in the top tier, and we want to be. We realized that we are not an easy company to work with and need to be more transparent about how our suppliers' investment money is spent and utilized. We have a restructure that we are working on in order to get that right." Supplier: "Allowed us to better deliver on our intent to become a customer-cen- tric organization and adopt a company- wide approach to customer engagement." Supplier: "We try to have detailed dis- cussions with our retailers to understand how in the future we can better meet their expectations in areas where we had low rankings. We find that the following year, our ratings improve as a result." See what else our suppliers and retailers are saying about The Advantage Report and how it helped them to improve their collaboration and results by visiting www.advantagegroup.com/testimoni- alvideos. Contact me to discuss how Advantage Group International can help you. For more information, visit www.advantage group.com or contact Patty Basche, Director, U.S. Client Services by calling 224.730.4198 or emailing pbasche @advantagegroup.com. ACETO SUBSIDIARY RISING PHARMACEUTICALS LAUNCHES ZILEUTON EXTENDED RELEASE TABLETS, 600 MG ACETO Corporation, an international company engaged in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of human health products, pharmaceutical ingredi- ents and performance chemicals, has announced that Rising Pharmaceuticals, Inc., its finished dosage form generics sub- sidiary, has launched Zileuton Extended Release Tablets, 600 mg, a generic version of Zyflo CR ® Tablets from Chiesi USA. Rising Pharmaceuticals received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for this prod- uct, which is indicated for the chronic treatment of asthma and should be taken regularly as prescribed. Rising is a leading supplier of gener- ic medicines in the U.S., and the launch of Zileuton Extended Release Tablets, 600 mg, adds to the company's signifi- cant human pharmaceutical franchise. Zileuton Extended Release Tablets, 600 mg, had U.S. sales of approximately $75 million for the 12 months ending December 2016, according to IMS Health. Rising Pharmaceuticals has built a commercial portfolio of more than 110 products currently in the U.S. market. Additionally, it has a development port- folio of more than 80 ANDAs filed with the FDA or pending launch, representing more than $10 billion in addressable mar- ket value, using recent IMS sales data. Rising develops and brings high quality products to the market in collaboration with select development and finished dosage form manufacturing partners, under the Rising label. ACETO Corporation sells generic prescription products and over-the- counter pharmaceutical products under its Rising label to leading wholesalers, chain drug stores, distributors and mass merchandisers. About ACETO ACETO Corporation, incorporated in 1947 and with offices and operations in 10 countries, is engaged in the develop- ment, marketing, sale and distribution of human health products (finished dosage form generics and nutraceuticals), phar- maceutical ingredients (pharmaceutical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients) and performance chemicals (specialty chemicals and agricultural pro- tection products). For more information, visit booth #114, go to www.risingpharma.com, call 201.961.9000 or email info@risingpharma.com. AXIM BIOTECH ENTERS TERM SHEET AGREEMENT WITH U.S. API COMPANY TO DEVELOP BIOEQUIVALENT PRODUCT TO MARINOL AXIM ® Biotechnologies, Inc., a world leader in cannabinoid research and devel- opment, has announced that it has entered into a Term Sheet Agreement with a U.S.-based controlled-substances API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) production company to develop a dron- abinol-based functional, controlled- release chewing gum product based on AXIM IP and technology. The new dron- abinol chewing gum product will be bioequivalent to Marinol ® , and used to help treat patients with chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS patients experiencing appetite and weight loss. Since its market introductions, Marinol remains the only FDA approved cannabis-based drug available in the U.S. In its current form, Marinol is deliv- ered through a gel capsule where 90 per- cent of the dronabinol is metabolized into 11-OH-THC due to the first-pass (liver) metabolism. This causes significant side effects for patients, including impaired thinking and other adverse reactions. AXIM's patented control-release chew- ing gum largely bypasses the first pass metabolism in the liver and results in decreased side effects for patients. AXIM will work with this API-man- ufacturing company in the development of the Marinol bioequivalent chewing gum. The company will supply AXIM with the synthetic dronabinol (delta-9- THC) for use in these trials. AXIM will then conduct a bioequivalency study. Following the completion of the study, AXIM will seek FDA approval to bring this chewing gum product to market. For more information, visit www .aximbiotech.com.