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Glaxo's diet pill stirs early interest
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By Diedtra Henderson
Eager dieters snapped up all the packages of alli at dozens of Walgreen Co. stores yesterday, providing a sneak peek at how the nation's only federally approved over-the-counter diet pill would be greeted today, the first day of nationwide sales. "It's a product they've been waiting for," said Carol Hively , a spokeswoman for the drugstore chain.
To prepare for the diet pill's official launch, its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, began shipping alli packages at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday . But retailers who received shipments were free to begin selling the drug earlier. Walgreen, which paid for its own television advertisement promoting alli, yesterday stocked it in 5,751 stores in 48 states and Puerto Rico . The company said the diet pills were selling as fast as they landed on store shelves. Walgreen also took advance orders on its website .
Glaxo is spending $150 million on alli, one of its most ambitious promotions ever. The drug, which costs $1.80 for one day's supply, can help dieters lose an extra five pounds for every 10 they shed through diet and exercise alone.
Some retailers sent customers postcards promoting alli's arrival, and are tying it into pitches for low- and reduced-fat food or exercise equipment also sold in their stores. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is among the retailers to install elaborate displays complete with telephones that play prerecorded messages about alli.
While Glaxo has been criticized for the pill, due to the uncontrolled bowel movements it can trigger, and its promotional campaign, the money alli is expected to generate will come at a crucial time for the drug maker.
Sales of Glaxo's diabetes pill, Avandia, are slumping over recent concerns about its link to heart attacks.
On Wednesday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended that the agency reject a potential rival diet pill, Acomplia , over concerns of possible links to suicides. Acomplia's maker, Sanofi-Aventis SA, saw its stock take its most dramatic plunge in three years, erasing more than $7 billion in market value for the world's third-largest drug company.
Glaxo's Steve Burton declined to comment about the impact of news about Avandia and Acomplia on alli's marketing. But there is little indication that intense consumer interest in the diet pill has been dampened.
"Consumers are looking for proven and safe options because they're kind of frustrated and confused by the lack of choices that seem to work," said Burton, vice president of marketing in the consumer healthcare unit's weight control division.
Americans spend about $1 billion each year for dietary supplements and herbal remedies that purport to be weight-loss aids.
Diedtra Henderson can be reached at dhenderson@globe.com.
Source: Boston GlobeAll rights reserved.