Acne: a problem to be solved

Chain Drug Review, March 17, 2008

NEW YORK -- If there is any segment of the skin care market that has a perpetual customer base it is acne treatments.

As long as there are teenagers and hormones, those in the industry say, there will be acne and those whom it afflicts will flock to their neighborhood drug stores looking for relief.

According to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), sales of acne treatments continue to grow at a steady pace, with dollar sales for the 52 weeks ended January 27 up 2.8% in drug stores and ahead 3 % across the three mass market trade classes.

The steady growth and guaranteed future for ache treatments have led an increasing number of suppliers to enter the category with a wider array of products to alleviate the condition. And while many of the latest entries are traditional creams and gels designed to cleanse pores and eliminate pimples, some have taken technology to the next level.

For example, Tyrell Inc.'s Zeno is a handheld device that works by harnessing one of the fundamental principles of medicine--using heat to treat bacteria.

The company's proprietary ClearPoint technology is embedded in a replaceable treatment tip that heats up to over 118 degrees for two and a half minutes and is applied directly to an individual acne pimple. This application generates a heat/shock response, killing the bacteria and clearing the affected area.

Last fall another high-tech device became available to online drug store shoppers when Therative Inc. struck a deal with drugstore.com to carry its ThermaClear, a handheld acne treatment device that uses a process called HEAT (heat-enabled acne treatment).

Meanwhile, sales of more conventional treatments continue do accelerate.

University Medical Pharmaceuticals--which markets such products as the AcneFree system, the top-selling brand in the category--saw a 16.4% increase in sales during the most recent period, IRI says,

Private label ache treatments, once only an afterthought for many consumers, now account for 4.6% of dollar sales at and 7.4% of the units moved in drug stores. Over the past year dollar volume of these products increased by 53.3% and unit sales moved ahead by 53.2%.

As is the case with so many other personal care products and over-the-counter treatments, some suppliers are turning to natural ingredients in their acne remedies.

Joesoef Skin Care Distributors, LLC, for example, offers an antiacne treatment that uses natural volcanic sulfur as its main active ingredient. The company's founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Edward Joesoef, who is a dermatologist, notes that sulfur has been used in acne treatments since the ancient Roman times.

As diverse as the acne treatments market is becoming, the bottom line is finding the best way to reach teenagers, those in the industry say. Waltman Pharmaceuticals Inc., marketers of the ZapZyt line of treatments, has decided to go where teens congregate: online. The company is advertising ZapZyt on the online social network myspace,com, while Mentholatum Co. has had success with offbeat comedy television ads for its Oxy brand of acne-fighting products.