HEALTH

LAS VEGAS — Lansinoh Laboratories is expanding its product offering with six new items for mass outlets in 2014, which are being introduced this week at the ABC Kids Expo, the company announced Wednesday.  

The items are inspired by Lansinoh's new Pump-Store-Feed system, and are designed to make breastfeeding as convenient as possible. The new products include two breast pumps and a redesign of the Lansinoh mOmma bottle. 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Heel on Tuesday announced the launch of the Reboost product line, which includes four of the company’s homeopathic cold, cough and flu products. The line is now available at a variety of fine natural health stores and pharmacies, including Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Patients taking a drug used for weight loss were able to reduce their chances of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

According to data from a 475-patient study published in the journal Diabetes Care, Vivus' Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate) reduced the annualized incidence rate of Type 2 diabetes by up to 78.7% in high-risk, overweight or obese patients with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Prediabetes is a condition in which a person has elevated blood sugar and a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe on Wednesday announced the grand opening of its new distribution center in Ashland, Va. The new 311,740 square-foot facility began receiving inbound inventory in June 2013 and outbound shipments to stores began in September. 

NEW YORK — Contrary to the pharmaceutical industry’s commonly-held belief that active Rx and OTC brand consumers are harder to find online than offline, a new study released Tuesday reveals that the online audience is just as active — and for select categories, more active — than the general population.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Ricola on Tuesday added a new product to its line of uniquely effective herb drops — Extra Strength for powerful cough relief.

Extra Strength contains a blend of 10 natural Swiss Alpine herbs and a soothing syrup center that provides powerful cough relief with natural menthol.

WASHINGTON — Two associations representing the dietary supplement industry issued separate statements in response to what they characterized as a faulty meta-analysis, “Effects of Vitamin D Supplements on Bone Mineral Density: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published last week in The Lancet.

PARIS — Allergy sufferers will have a new treatment option available to them by the spring allergy season. Sanofi on Friday announced that the Food and Drug Administration approved Nasacort Allergy 24HR nasal spray (triamcinolone intranasal) as an over-the-counter treatment for seasonal and year-round nasal allergies in adults and children 2 years of age and older. 

Nasacort is the first and only nasal corticosteroid to be available without a prescription and will be marketed by Sanofi's consumer healthcare division, Chattem.