Detoxner expands with easy-to-swallow option

TheOTCLab is set to expand its Detoxner range of medical devices designed to tackle irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with an easy-to-swallow capsule option.

Albert Swane, owner and founder of TheOTCLab told OTC bulletin that the Detoxner IBS Capsules would serve as an easy entry point to the Detoxner range and enabled the company to offer IBS sufferers “multiple options to relieve their symptoms”.

The new variant would be available by the end of the year in the majority of markets where Detoxner products were already available, Swane pointed out, such as the UK – where the range is available in Boots and Tesco stores – and the Netherlands, where the line is sold in Etos and Kruidvat outlets.

Furthermore, Swane said, Detoxner IBS Capsules would also serve as a “door-opener” to the IBS market in countries where the brand was not currently available.

To back the launch of the capsules, TheOTCLab was putting together a wideranging marketing campaign, he revealed, integrating consumer marketing activities – such as television advertising and print – with an educational campaign targeting general practitioners and gastroenterologists.

A pharmacy and drugstore campaign would also be rolled out, Swane said, with the aim of educating pharmacists and store staff about both IBS and the Detoxner range to ensure they could confidently give advice to people suffering from IBS.

Indicated for quick relief of constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, gas and bloating, Detoxner IBS Capsules joins the existing Dextoner IBS Intense and Detoxner IBS Maintenance.

All three products are based on the firm’s patented 2QR-complex, a bioactive compound derived from plants.

Detoxner IBS Intense was designed to be a first-line treatment to tackle the symptoms of IBS when the condition strikes, while the Detoxner IBS Maintenance product – which was launched last year (OTC bulletin, 30 June 2017, page 18) – was designed as a 30- day programme to help sufferers of IBS to better control their symptoms and should be used after tackling IBS with the Detoxner IBS Intense five-day programme.

The Intense and Maintenance products are intended for adults and children, aged 16 years and over, who suffer from IBS, while the capsules product is suitable for adults and children aged 12 years and up.

TheOTCLab recently expanded its portfolio by launching the Kidsner range of products, described as the first dedicated OTC brand for children aged four to 12 years old (OTC bulletin, 22 June 2018, page 17) .

Commenting on the launch – which is scheduled for the autumn – Swane pointed out that while many OTC brands had products designed for children, Kidsner would be the first brand solely dedicated and designed for treating minor ailments that impact kids.

“If you look today on pharmacy or drugstore shelves you will find a section for infants and babies and a section for adults,” Swane said, “but you don’t see a section aimed at children aged four to 12 years of age.”

“Our ambition,” he added, “is to see a shelving unit full of Kidsner products, to help parents easily find the right product to treat their child’s everyday health problem.”

TheOTCLab, Swane claimed, saw a big opportunity for Kidsner to become the go-to brand for parents wanting products designed specifically to treat their children.

Currently consisting of nine products all with distinct ‘human names’ – Lizzy the Anti- Lice Cream Lotion, Max the Earwax Cleaner, Marly the Travel Lollypops, Juan the Anti- Nail Bite Pen, Iris the Common Cold Calendula Nose Spray, Albert the Allergy Nose Spray, Charly the Sore Throat Lollypop, Sally the Sore Throat Spray and Willy the Wart Treatment – the Kidsner range and packaging had been designed to appeal to children and make using the product less scary, Swane said.

While Swane would not reveal which markets Kidsner would be launched in later this year, he said the company was primarily targeting Europe, with launches planned in countries such as the UK and TheOTCLab’s home market of the Netherlands.

Not all the products would be available in all markets, Swane noted, given the differences between what ailments were most common in the child population across the different countries.