 Newcomer Curanail (switched from POM to P in May 2006) beat old favourites like Calpol and Gaviscon to the title of OTC brand of the year at the OTC Marketing Awards 2007, held in London this month.
To support its launch last year, Galderma (UK) Ltd invested in a £1m
advertising campaign. Being the first in a new OTC category, it was hard
to gauge what sales performance to expect, said Pamela Gerdingh, brand
manager at Galderma.”We looked at the size of the prescription
market for fungal nail infections and considered that over a million
people in the UK suffer from fungal nail infection. We based our [sales]
estimates on that, as well the performance of previous disease awareness
campaigns and POM to P switches in other therapy areas,” she said.
In fact, sales of the 5 per cent amorolfine nail lacquer have exceeded
the company’s expectations, with over 200,000 packs sold between
the launch and December. This led to supply challenges on the back of
two advertising campaigns which generated more demand than expected.
The initial campaign included television advertising during “GMTV”. “We
aimed at 25- to 54-year-olds who were more likely to go to a pharmacy.
GMTV allowed advertising to reach housewives, who purchase for their
families, before they went out to the shops,” Ms Gerdingh said.
One of the main deterrents to consumers interested in Curanail is its
recommended retail price of £18.61. It is estimated that one pack
is sufficient for three months’ treatment. A fingernail infection
usually requires 6 months’ treatment and a toenail infection nine
months so consumers will need to buy two or three packs. “We did
do pricing sensitivity analysis and research to see what people would
be prepared to pay and that was partly used to inform what the price
should be, but ultimately the cost of goods, pharmacy margin and investment
behind the product determine the retail price,” Ms Gerdingh said.
Sagar Patel, community pharmacist at Herbert & Herbert Chemist, Hounslow,
agreed that the price has discouraged some consumers. However, “I
think it is a good product at a sensible price,” he said. “It
depends on how well you sell the product. I don’t find it difficult
to sell. The key is honesty. I tell my customers that it is a product
that really works, but unless you are willing to use it properly, it
is a waste of money,” Mr Patel added. Ms Gerdingh pointed out that
the cost can be broken down to and expressed as £1.50 per week.
At the awards, presented by OTC bulletin and IMS Consumer Health, Curanail
also came second to Imigran Recovery for the title of best pharmacy support
package. Community pharmacist Ashok Soni was on the panel of judges.
He said that the fact that Curanail is highly effective combined with
the strong marketing has “driven volume through pharmacy, despite
the high retail price”.
Galderma plans further marketing campaigns this year, with adverts running
from May to July on several television channels to target a wider audience. “We
have had positive feedback from multiples and it is difficult to know
where the ceiling is, but we are expecting sales far in excess [of last
year] based on increased levels of investment and coverage across pharmacies,
Ms Gerdingh said. “And this year we’re making sure there
will be enough product,” she added.
— Lin-Nam Wang (on the staff of The Journal)
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Pharmaceutical Journal