As a whole, Canadians are more likely to wait out minor illnesses and conditions before doing anything about them.  Almost two-thirds said that they wait to see if a problem gets better before taking OTC medications.  Ten percent of those surveyed said they never take non-prescription medications for minor ailments, preferring to tough things out, and some indicating that they believed that using these products could be harmful to their health. 

When illness does strike, 17 percent of Canadians take advantage of their medical coverage and visit their doctor for advice (compared with just 9 percent for Americans).  They also put a lot of stock in their pharmacist: 40 percent said that the advice from pharmacists was important to them when choosing an OTC medication, compared to just 13 percent in the U.S.

“Canadians can be classified as minimalists when it comes to self-medication, especially in tough economic times.  When we do reach for an OTC treatment, we normally rely on the advice of a pharmacist to find a medication that is effective, fast, safe and offers value for money,” said Carman Allison, Director, Marketing Communications at Nielsen Canada.

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At an individual level, OTC heartburn remedies save the average American $174 each year — in office visits and medication costs.

Nielsen and CHPA’s joint study also found that 94% of all patients report being satisfied with available OTC heartburn medications.

More than half (61%) of consumers surveyed by Nielsen and CHPA reported treating their heartburn without discussing symptoms with a healthcare provider, a finding that underscores the importance of educating consumers about safe and effective OTC heartburn treatments.

View the full press release here.

According to Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer, the OTC oral/nasal allergy market grew by about 30% in the first half of 2008, compared with same period in 2007.

Like Zyrtec OTC, PL Cetirizine had rapid uptake, accounting for approximately one-third of the OTC cetirizine market’s patient volume during the spring 2008 allergy season.  Zyrtec OTC accounted for the remaining two-thirds of the cetirizine market’s patient volume, Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer reported.

Approximately 30% to 50% of PL Cetirizine’s business came from patients who are new to the allergy market, according to Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer.  Another 40% of PL Cetirizine’s patients switched from another medication — most notably, Private Label Loratidine, Claritin OTC, and Zyrtec OTC.

Like many OTC products, which typically lure consumers with lower prices, PL Cetirizine has offered patients cost savings.  Patients who switched to PL Cetirizine from any prescription or OTC allergy medication saved $1.56, on average, according to Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer.  Those switching from Zyrtec Rx saved an average of $6.19.

In the first six months following its launch (January to June 2008), Zyrtec OTC shook up prescription and OTC allergy medication markets in the U.S.   Prescription allergy drug sales declined sharply, while over-the-counter allergy drug sales increased significantly.

By June 2008, prescription sales of Zyrtec had declined to nearly negligible levels.  Meanwhile, the OTC form quickly gained acceptance, capturing almost one-quarter of the OTC allergy medication market — the same share held by market leaders Benadryl and Claritin OTC, which have been available for several years. 

More than 60% of Zyrtec OTC’s business came from patients who had not used an allergy product in the previous two years, or who use Zyrtec OTC concomitantly with other products, according to Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer. 

Another 40% of Zyrtec OTC buyers switched from a competing prescription or OTC allergy medication.  Among this group, 84% of patients switched specifically from another OTC product.

Perhaps most surprisingly, while OTC products typically lure consumers with their cost savings, 68% of patients who switched to Zyrtec actually spent more than they did on their prior prescription or OTC allergy treatment, Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer found. 

Nielsen and Wolters Kluwer tracked the market transition behavior of 57,000 consumers vis-à-vis Zyrtec over a 30-month timeframe.

Read the related white paper.

Learn more about prescription-to-OTC pharma trends: attend Nielsen’s Webinar, “Revealing the Landscape of Rx-to-OTC Switching,” on November 18, 2008.

According to a global survey conducted by Nielsen and the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP), U.S. consumers place more importance on price and value when choosing over-the-counter (OTC) medications than consumers in other countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and the Middle East. 

Thirty percent of U.S. consumers consider price to be important when choosing OTC products, while only 17% of global consumers do, Nielsen reported. Only Japanese consumers place more importance on price (33%).

And while just 15% of global consumers consider whether the product is a good value for money, one-quarter of Americans consider this factor being purchasing an OTC medication.

“With increasing medical costs and a fragile economy, the U.S. consumer is more price and value centric than ever,” Matt Dumas, managing director, NielsenHealth, noted.  “These findings highlight the rising importance of generic drugs in the U.S. market, which is underscored by low OTC product loyalty scores versus global markets.”

Nielsen’s Global Online Consumer Survey was conducted in April and May 2008, among 28,253 Internet users in 51 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and the Middle East.

View the full press release.