How can we improve Industry News @-a-Glance? We encourage your feedback!

Survey says only 13% have finished holiday shopping
Based on a survey of shoppers conducted by International Council of Shopping Centers, only 13% had completed their holiday buying. If so, retailers need it to show up soon. They are reluctant to try to spur it by drastically slashing prices as they did last year when consumers flooded stores during the week ahead of Christmas and spent heartily. In the end, sales rose 5% for the season to $210 billion, the strongest gain since 1999. The problem this year, however, is that demand is uneven...
USA Today

Eckerd/Brooks to operate copy centers in 1,500-plus locations
Eckerd/Brooks has entered into a long-term agreement with TRM Corp. to operate TRM Convenience Copy Centers in 1,549 locations, including locations that Jean Coutu acquired after purchasing more than 1,300 Eckerd stores. The multi-year deal builds upon the existing 200 installations TRM currently has in place in Eckerd stores...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | Yahoo/PRNewswire

Back to Top

Merck to cut 5,100 jobs by end of year
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., under siege over revenues lost since it recalled arthritis drug Vioxx, will have cut about 5,100 jobs by year's end, 700 more than first planned, and will slash costs by $2.4 billion over four years, chairman and CEO Raymond V. Gilmartin said Tuesday. Gilmartin, speaking to about 250 analysts during Merck's annual business briefing, said the company is accelerating changes to increase growth, but will stick with its strategy of shunning major mergers...
CNBC | Yahoo/AP

Abbott seeks prostate drug OK
Abbott Laboratories Inc. Tuesday said it is seeking U.S. regulatory approval for a drug to treat advanced prostate cancer that has spread through the body. The maker of drugs, nutritional products and diagnostic tests said its application was based on combined data from mid-stage and late-stage clinical trials of the drug, named Xinlay, which is intended for the treatment of metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer...
Crain's Chicago Business

Additional News:

• Blood pressure combo could be dangerous Yahoo/AP
• FDA has granted an AB rating to Synthroid Yahoo/PRNewswire
• Glaxo cancer vaccine may face marketing challenge Reuters
• Shire bipolar drug gets approval Yahoo/AP
• Merck agrees to simplify Vioxx refund program Reuters
• No rest for sleep-aid companies TheStreet.com

Back to Top

Heart attacks linked to cutting ibuprofen
Patients who abruptly discontinue long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen run a higher risk of heart attack for a few weeks immediately afterward, according to a study released Monday by Switzerland's University Hospital Basel. The study, based on a British health database, included 8,688 patients who had their first heart attack between 1995 and 2001...
USA Today

Chromium picolinate gets all-clear in UK
The mineral supplement chromium picolinate has been given the all-clear by the UK’s food authority. It is a strong sign that the compound could be accepted across Europe under the forthcoming supplements directive, writes Dominique Patton. Last year an expert group on vitamins and minerals set up by the UK’s Food Standards Agency to report on safe intake levels, concluded that there was some evidence suggesting that chromium picolinate might be genotoxic, or could damage DNA...
NutraIngredients

Back to Top

Mentholatum acquires Oxy brand
The Mentholatum Co., a maker of non-prescription drugs and health care products, has acquired from GlaxoSmithKline the Oxy brand acne skin care products. Mentholatum will begin selling and marketing worldwide the entire Oxy product line, including Oxy Cleansing Pads, Oxy Acne Spot Treatment and Oxy Acne Washes. The deal gives Mentholatum, which is known for its Mentholatum Ointment and Deep Heating Rub, immediate entry into the U.S. skin care category...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | Canada NewsWire

Back to Top

Kraft hikes Maxwell House 14%
Kraft Foods will increase the price of a 13-ounce can of Maxwell House coffee by 14 percent to $2.29 in response to a surge in the price of coffee beans, the company said Tuesday. Kraft's announcement comes on the heels of a 14 percent increase in ground coffee prices in early December by Folgers, a division of Proctor & Gamble...
Crain's Chicago Business

Old Orchard revamps its low-carb juice line
Old Orchard Brands said it will revamp its low-carbohydrate fruit juice, giving the products a new name and look beginning in 2005. Originally introduced as Old Orchard LoCarb in the Fall of 2003, the fruit juice line will now be called Old Orchard Healthy Balance. The line, with 75 percent less sugar, carbs and calories than the original, has sold more than 12 million bottles since it hit retail shelves in January 2004...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | PRNewswire

Back to Top

Bratz album set for release in ‘05
Universal Music Enterprises and MGA Entertainment, maker of Bratz fashion dolls, have teamed to create a music CD. Some of the music industry’s top producers and songwriters are said to be working on the album, set to debut sometime in 2005. The companies however, declined to release additional details, keeping the project under wraps until next year’s Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and the New York Toy Fair, both in February...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd) | Business Wire

7-Eleven unveils dedicated gift card center
As the gift of plastic gains popularity with consumers, 7-Eleven, Inc. is responding by dedicating a freestanding gift card center with a variety of retailers, restaurants and entertainment choices. The convenience chain installed what it refers to as a virtual mini-mall in its stores with gift cards ranging from $10 to $70...
Drug Store News (Sub Req'd)

Back to Top

Global drug sales growth 7 percent in year to October
Global pharmaceutical sales grew seven percent in the 12 months to October, the same rate as recorded a month earlier, healthcare information firm IMS Health said on Tuesday. A couple of years back, the drugs industry could rely on double-digit growth but generic competition has bitten into sales while governments and other healthcare providers have squeezed prices in a bid to rein in costs...
Reuters

Back to Top