HEALTH

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance on Wednesday announces a binding offer from Fareva for a 10-year global agreement for the manufacture and supply of own beauty brands and private label products, including products for sale in the U.S.

"The proposed agreement will create a partnership to provide Walgreens Boots Alliance with a core multinational manufacturing and development resource, enabling the company to accelerate its global product strategy," Walgreens Boots Alliance stated.

SAN DIEGO — Acenda announced Wednesday that it has integrated with Walmart.com's global marketplace, connecting Acenda store owners and third-party sellers with Walmart's significant customer base.  Acenda now helps retailers and brands optimize their product listings across major marketplaces including Walmart, Amazon, Google and eBay as well as leading retailers.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Coffee Booster won the ECRM/Drug Store News Buyers Choice Award for its line of liquid health supplements for coffee during ECRM’s Weight Management, Sports Nutrition & Vitamin EPPS held here recently. And Corr-Jensen was a finalist with its ORB Sleep Complex vitamins.

The two companies were selected from dozens of entries in the award program, samples of which were displayed in the ECRM hospitality area during the EPPS meetings. Buyers cast their votes based on product innovation and packaging.

New York — Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on Monday made two massive deals in the health and wellness space, acquiring WebMD outright and taking a majority stake in Carlyle Group's Nature's Bounty Co. Taken together, the two deals couple a significant player in delivering health and wellness through retail and the go-to online source of information when consumers are researching health and wellnesss issues.

WebMD sold for $2.8 billion; financial terms regarding the stake in Nature's Bounty were not disclosed.

BOSTON — Rite Aid's Health Dialog on Monday introduced comprehensive Medication Therapy Management services for health plans. The new MTM services combine analytics with skilled health coaching to help patients overcome barriers to proper medication use, identify medication-related problems, promote coordination of care and improve medication management success.

SAN DIEGO — Designer Protein announced Thursday the launch of two new Designer Whey flavors, including chocolate mocha and vanilla coconut. These new offerings will be available immediately online and in select retailers within the coming weeks.

The new Designer Whey flavors will be available in 12 oz. packages and will retail for $14.49 each.
 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has given tentative approval to Merck’s follow-on biologic basal insulin Lusdana Nexvue (insulin glargine injection), the company announced Thursday. The tentative approval notes that the drug has met the required regulatory standards, but is subject to an automatic stay, as Sanofi has claimed patent infringement on its insulin product Lantus.

TOKYO — Improvements are being made around wearable diagnostics that can monitor one of several vital health signs. The University of Tokyo is currently developing a hypoallergenic electronic sensor that can be worn on the skin continuously for a week without discomfort and is so light and thin that users forget they even have it on.

The elastic electrode constructed of breathable nanoscale meshes holds promise for the development of noninvasive e-skin devices that can monitor a person's health continuously over a long period, the researchers reported.