Table of Contents
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — With a nod to poet Robert Frost, John Incledon, president and CEO of Florham Park, NJ-based Hisamitsu America, is on a topical analgesic awareness mission with “promises to keep” and “miles to go before” he sleeps. Since joining Hisamitsu America in 2010 after serving as SVP at Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, Incledon has been singularly focused on making OTC topical pain relief medicine the number one choice for safe, effective pain relief among Americans.
Despite Salonpas achieving record revenues in the U.S., less than 1 in 3 U.S. households are buying products in the External Analgesics category, with the Salonpas OTC brand still facing low adoption compared to other countries.
Over the past 13 years, with Incledon’s leadership of his lean team of employees and consultants, Salonpas has experienced extraordinary growth in the U.S. market, with retail sales surging over tenfold to exceed $200 million in 2023.
With the parent company, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical ready to celebrate the 90-year anniversary of the iconic Salonpas patch, that first gained recognition overseas in 1934 on March 1st, Incledon remains steadfast in his commitment to grow market awareness about the benefits of topical medicine.
“I see Hisamitsu America as the ‘little engine that could,’ continually striving to win the hearts of every pharmacist, doctor, and consumer,” says Incledon. “People who have discovered Salonpas are satisfied and brand loyal, but our goal is to bring many more people under the ‘topicals tent’ like as seen in other parts of the world, especially Japan.”
“Safe, topical OTC pain relief products are the first treatment option for the Japanese, with the United States and Canada lagging behind much of the world in using topical pain relief as their first line of treatment,” says Dr. Bob Arnot, internal medicine, who is a journalist and author who served as medical and foreign correspondent for NBC and CBS. “Educating people on the safe and efficacious benefits of topical pain relief is important.”
