MoreRecalls of Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl not only have made those top brands vulnerable – they’ve created an opening for private label drugs, says an August 6 story on CNNMoney.com.
Johnson & Johnson’s drug-making unit McNeil makes popular cold and pain drugs like Tylenol and Motrin. The company has recalled millions of children’s and adult versions of those drugs the past 10 months. Recalls and a McNeil factory closing created a supply shortage for adult varieties and “a complete vacuum for children’s over-the-counter versions of the brands,” reports CNNMoney.
Evidence indicates retailers have tried to take advantage of the situation. “Over the last four months, there’s been rather high demand from our retail clients to increase production,” the CNNMoney story quotes Doug Boothe, CEO, Actavis, as saying. Actavis is a division of Iceland-based Actavis Group, maker of private label prescription and generic drugs.
Boothe goes on to say that the company has ramped up its private label drug manufacturing to five times the capacity versus earlier this year, for clients such as CVS, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.
CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis is quoted in the story saying the chain is still experiencing shortages of Tylenol and other branded drugs due to the recalls. “We are meeting customer demand with CVS private label products. We want to encourage our customers to try our brand and stick with it.”
Walgreens’ spokeswoman Tiffani Washington says the drugstore chain is doing its best to meet demand for cold and pain drugs with its private label brands.
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