Nexium gives most relief as OTC sales fall

If you’re looking for relief from all the doom, gloom and deflation, you won’t find much here. The supers have sold 15.3 million fewer packs of OTC medicines in the past year, partly as a result of the warm winter.

The brightest spot is Pfizer’s indigestion remedy Nexium, up £7.6m (OTC’s greatest gain). “Without Nexium, indigestion remedies would have declined 1%,” says Nielsen analyst Carina Hess. Nexium’s average price is £8.20 a pack; the sector average is £3.30.

Pack prices are rising for another reason: they’re getting bigger. “Allergy performance was driven by trading up to larger pack sizes and key NPD launches driving sales in the nasal spray category,” says Superdrug healthcare director Michael Henry.

Top Launch 2016

In allergy remedies, the switch to nasal sprays has helped drive the growth of Pirinase, which has scored the greatest gain in the sub sector, up 71.8% £3.1m. In cold & flu remedies, decongestant sprays are stealing share from capsules and lozenges.

Nevertheless, GSK’s Nurses range is up 6.5% to £27.8m, thanks partly to big marketing spend. “By driving awareness of our range, we hope to help educate shoppers on the role our products can play in providing relief of symptoms,” says Andy Mahoney, marketing manager for respiratory.