Manufacturers make shifts in 2016

The competitive landscape throughout the OTC arena has changed significantly over the past five years, with the Top 10 rankings shifting in the past year thanks to a slew of acquisitions and joint ventures. Bayer’s bolt-on acquisition of Merck’s Consumer Health business in 2014 helped solidify its spot as the second-largest OTC marketer. And GSK Consumer Healthcare claimed the No. 3 spot after forming a joint venture with Novartis Consumer Health.

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Reckitt Benckiser ranked ninth in OTC sales in 2010, but has risen to be the sixth-largest competitor in 2015 after acquiring the large nutritional and digestive Schiff business and the Airborne immune boosting brand. RB also is rumored to be in the running for Pfizer’s No. 4 OTC business, should that division become available. That would rocket RB to the top spot, barring significant forced divestitures, with a combined book of OTC business of $2.4 billion.

“That makes the most sense in terms of what RB would need to be a top player in the OTC world,” said Laura Mahecha, Kline’s Healthcare Industry Manager.

The respective portfolios would appear to match well, Mahecha suggested, gaining RB significant entry into OTC pain and digestives. Pfizer’s Advil is the No. 1 pain reliever in the United States, with sales of $494.1 million for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 30, according to IRI across total U.S. multi-outlets .

Sanofi, No. 7 on Kline Group’s list of top U.S. OTC manufacturers, would be another possible suitor for Pfizer’s OTC business, Mahecha said.