OTC gels boost athlete’s foot market

NEW YORK —The relatively flat athlete’s foot segment of the foot care category has been infused with a little new product excitement this year with the introduction of Novartis’ LamisilAT Gel product and Pedinol’s Fungoid Tincture. Good news for purveyors of OTC foot care solutions, especially as Novartis’ Lamisil prescription medicine for treatment of severe athlete’s foot begins facing generic competition. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first Lamisil generic equivalents in July, making it a potentially cheaper alternative for consumers.

Pedinol launched earlier this year a potential incremental athlete’s foot treatment, Fungoid Tincture, that is placed around the nail bed to help treat athlete’s foot that has rooted underneath the nail. “A lot of doctors [recommend] our product before trying a prescription product because some of their patients have other ailments … they try to limit the number of systemic products they take,” said Carmen Polanco, product manager for Pedinol.

Novartis earlier this year introduced its LamisilAT Gel, a cooling gel formula that cures most athlete’s foot with seven once-a-day doses, which according to the company is half the treatment required of any competing brand. “Many athlete’s foot products require you to apply treatment twice a day for up to four weeks,” stated José Rodriguez, vice president of marketing, at the time of the product’s launch in March.

Novartis has been promoting its LamisilAT Gel through the National Basketball Association with spokesmen Tony Parker, a two-time NBA all-star point guard who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, and contests that had five winners shooting hoops with Parker on the hardwood.

Athlete’s foot is a skin disease caused by a fungus, usually occurring between the toes, that as much as 70 percent of the U.S. population will experience at some point in their lives. The fungus most commonly attacks the feet because shoes create a warm, dark and humid environment that encourages fungal growth, but may also spread to the soles of the feet and to the toenails.