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PALATINE, Ill. — Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. has expanded distribution of its Nexafed nasal decongestant — which has a technology that disrupts the conversion of pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine — to over 2,600 pharmacies nationwide.
Acura said Wednesday that since Nexafed’s introduction in December 2012, the over-the-counter cold medicine has become a staple in many pharmacies, including all Fruth Pharmacies and all the independent pharmacies of Scott County, Tennessee, which stock Nexafed as their only 30-mg pseudoephedrine product.
Nexafed made its chain drug store debut earlier this year at Kerr Drug in North Carolina.
The increased presence of Nexafed in retail pharmacies recently can be attributed to supercenter retailer Meijer, which is stocking the OTC medicine in all its pharmacies; the addition of a large regional supermarket chain based in Florida; and further distribution gains at independent pharmacies, according to Acura.
"We’re seeing a significant increase in repeat orders from pharmacies," commented J. Bradley Rivet, vice president of marketing at Acura Pharmaceuticals. "We’ve come to appreciate that once pharmacists begin recommending Nexafed and are satisfied with its effectiveness, they typically become an advocate."
Nexafed delivers the same efficacy as leading pseudoephedrine cold medicines but contains Acura’s Impede polymer matrix technology, which disrupts the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine, the company said. If abusers try to extract the pseudoephedrine out of Nexafed to make meth, the inactive ingredients in the polymer matrix will form a thick gel to block the extraction and disrupt conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine.
Through national and regional wholesalers, Nexafed is readily available to nearly every U.S. pharmacy, Acura added.
"The launch of our current Nexafed formulation continues to progress well as we prepare our improved Impede 2.0 formulation for market," stated Robert Jones, president and chief executive officer of Acura Pharmaceuticals. "The pharmacists and chain pharmacies that stock and recommend our product have reviewed our test results closely and been very discriminating in the selection of effective products they can recommend with confidence for their patients."
