Kline & Co.'s Mahecha projects growth of U.S. OTC market

NEW YORK Switch (and more recently the economy) drives sales of over-the-counter medicines. And sales are looking good for years to come.

Though, to be honest, the down economy was somewhat of a double-edged sword for purveyors of branded OTC medicines. Sure, more people elected to seek remedies in the nonprescription aisle before paying for a doctor’s visit, but they also walked out of those aisles with more private label products in their baskets. That’s great news for drug retailers but of concern to OTC manufacturers.

Now with the economy on the cusp of recovery (or a recovery well on its way, depending upon who you talk to), OTC manufacturers may have an opportunity to shift some of that marketshare back toward branded. Still good news for drug retailers (any front-end sale is a good sale, after all), and better news for OTC manufacturers.