In Brief: Global OTC market
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Global OTC market: Report by SelfMedication International, a unit of IMS/Nielsen, concludes that over 40% of the world OTC market is held by 10 consumer product firms. The top OTC company based on worldwide sales is American Home Products with 7% of OTC sales, followed by Johnson & Johnson, Warner Wellcome, Procter & Gamble, SmithKline Beecham, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ciba, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Schering-Plough. Global self-medication accounted for almost an 18% share of total drug sales, according to the report, and 30% of the world OTC market is in the U.S. The two OTC categories that have had the "most positive growth" in the U.S. are dietary supplements and diagnostic tests, up 16% and 13%, respectively...