Treatment of Osteoporosis is On the Rise

Over-The-Counter Medications Gain Share of Market

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Nov. 27, 2000--The number of osteoporosis sufferers who are turning to treatment has almost doubled compared to a year ago, reports marketing information provider The NPD Group, Inc. According to NPD PharmTrendsŪ, the firm's pharmaceuticals tracking unit, 7% of the U.S. population now treat this condition or practice prevention with drug therapy, up from 4% last year.

As the treatment base grows, it's also encompassing more men. Not surprisingly, as women are most often affected and diagnosed, most treaters are female. NPD PharmTrends has found, however, that 10% of the osteoporosis sufferers who treat their condition or prevent it with medication are men.

Of those sufferers who treat, an increasing number are purchasing over-the-counter alternatives to assist in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. While most sufferers treat their condition with prescription drugs rather than over-the-counter medications, consumers added more over-the-counter medications to their osteoporosis treatment regimen in 2000 than ever before. In the twelve months ending June 2000, 33% of the medications reported purchased for osteoporosis treatment were over-the-counter products, compared to 18% the previous year.

As a result, osteoporosis sufferers are spending more for drug therapy and prevention therapy than they did a year ago. Consumer purchasing of dietary supplements such as Calcium and brands Caltrate, Citracal, and Oscal has helped fuel the increase in spending for this disease. Showing the strongest gains, over-the-counter purchases are the driving force behind this rapid growth of treatment purchases.

The alternative therapy trend is more prevalent among women, who account for the lion's share of sufferers. Thirty-four percent of women's purchases for osteoporosis treatment are over-the-counter medications, compared to 19% a year ago, yielding a gain of 15 share points among females.

Of the brands available for osteoporosis treatment, Fosamax continues to be the leading medication purchased by both men and women, accounting for over a third of the drugs purchased. NPD's data reveal that Fosamax and the other top four brands account for 60% of all purchases to treat osteoporosis in the U.S., down from 70% last year. Increased levels of purchasing for over-the-counter alternatives have been responsible for the decline in market importance.

TOP Rx/OTC PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY CONSUMERS TO TREAT OSTEOPOROSIS

RANK #             PRODUCT                          RX/OTC
#1                 Fosamax                                Rx
#2                 Miacalcin                                Rx
#3                 Evista                                     Rx
#4                 Premarin                                 Rx
#5                 Prempro                                 Rx
#6                 Calcium supplements              OTC
#7                 Citracal                                  OTC
#8                 Caltrate                                  OTC
#9                 Oscal                                     OTC

``As a disease that's most prevalent among postmenopausal females, osteoporosis is on the rise as baby boomers move into middle age,'' confirms Fariba Zamaniyan, senior account manager of NPD PharmTrends. ``It's not surprising to see the maturing population turn to self-medication practices to prevent and prepare for the aging process. The soaring costs of health care make over-the-counter alternatives attractive as Americans are becoming more involved in their health care and treatment practices. Consumers' readiness to accept these alternatives makes this a particularly interesting category to watch.''

Information Providers:

About PharmTrendsŪ

NPD PharmTrends tracks consumer purchases of prescription and over-the-counter medications. The service provides information on sales volume, outlet shopping / store preference, pricing, ad recall and consumer demographics. Data are collected monthly from 16,000 nationally representative households in the contiguous U.S.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is an international marketing information company headquartered in Port Washington, NY. Founded in 1953, the firm specializes in providing insight into consumer purchasing and behavior via both Internet-based and traditional research methodologies, including online and offline consumer panels and point-of-sale tracking.