Prescription to OTC push
January 21, 2016
SWITCHING prescription
medications to over-the-counter
(OTC) status is the basis of future
growth of the OTC drugs market
according to recent research
released by Global Business
Intelligence (GBI) research.
While the work was referencing
the European and US markets,
the data is clearly indicative of
application into similar markets
such as the UK, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand, the report said.
The two main challenges
identified in the transition from
prescription to OTC status are “selfselection
and side effects.”
While pharmaceutical companies
see the switch as a means
of evergreening their bigger
prescription products upon expiry
of patent, challenges remain
around regulatory issues, legal
exposure, margin trimming and
economies of scale.
For those companies with a
well established generic and
OTC divisions, the transitions
are obviously smoother, but
even smaller organisations are
taking advantage of outsourcing
arrangements to achieve the same
objectives, the researchers found.
Ultimately the fate of drugs
moving into a different segment
is dependent on the data and the
regulator, the report said.
“Beyond basic efficacy data,
potential benefits of a switch
could include increased access
to treatment options, improved
quality of life, improved public
health, enhanced consumer
awareness and involvement, or
greater worker productivity.”
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