New Products

MADISON, N.J. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare on Tuesday announced it will be supporting its Advil Congestion Relief launch with a text-driven sweepstakes across five metropolitan areas, including Atlanta; Grapevine, Texas; Jersey City, N.J.; Orland Park, Ill.; and Pleasanton, Calif. As many as 100 sweepstake winners will be awarded the services of a personal shopper for use on Black Friday, providing “literal congestion relief” on one of the most congested holiday shopping days.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — There is a direct correlation between the amount of a patient's out-of-pocket co-pay and prescription abandonment, according to the findings of a CVS Caremark-sponsored study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study also found that e-prescriptions are more likely to be abandoned at retail compared with handwritten prescriptions.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — From fashion designers to celebrity stylists to cosmetic gurus, it seems like everyone is doing it; and now, clinical skin care brand Kinerase has created a new line for the mass market: Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase.

Kinerase has a long history of creating high-end skin care products for both the physician and prestige channels. Now, select mass-market retailers can target those consumers who want higher-end products, but not the higher-end price tag.

SILVER SPRING, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for breast cancer, the agency said Monday.

The FDA approved Eisai’s Halaven (eribulin mesylate) for patients with breast cancer that has spread and who have received at least two chemotherapy regimens for the disease in its late stages. More than 200,000 women will be diagnosed this year with breast cancer, and nearly 40,000 will die from it, making it the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women, according to the National Cancer Institute.

PHILADELPHIA — The Food and Drug Administration has approved an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug for use in adolescents.

British drug maker Shire announced Monday the approval of Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) capsules for patients aged 13 to 17. The drug was already approved for children ages 6 years to 12 years and adults.

PLANO, Texas Tostitos has launched its new Tostitos Artisan Recipes tortilla chips in time for the holiday season.

The chips are available in two flavors -- roasted garlic and black bean, and fire-roasted chipotle -- and are made with 100% natural ingredients, including real black beans, garlic and chipotle peppers that are added right into the chips, as well as a unique blend of nine flavorful grains to deliver an authentic and delicious taste experience you can see and taste, according to the company.

NEW ORLEANS — Moving, in its own words, “beyond e-prescribing,” paperless platform provider Surescripts has begun expanding its nationwide e-prescribing network to allow doctors, pharmacists and other health professionals to exchange all types of clinical information.

SALT LAKE CITY — Identigene last month officially unveiled its Identigene STD test kit, which tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea—two of the more common sexually transmitted diseases—and essentially created a new niche within the growing self-test category.

For the 52 weeks ended Oct. 3, sales of self-test kits—including paternity, drug testing and disease state screening—were up 20.5% to $57.2 million across food, drug and mass (minus Walmart), according to SymphonyIRI Group data.