NICOTINE PATCH SHORTAGE IN USA

The demand for transdermal nicotine patches in the USA has now reached such a high level that the manufacturers are struggling to maintain supplies. As the availability of smoking cessation patches has dwindled, consumers are switching between products, despite efforts by the companies to cultivate brand loyalty in this fledgling market.

A situation may well be arising where the company which can keep up a steady supply will come out on top in terms of market share, comments the Wall Street Journal. Three of the major manufacturers in the USA - Ciba-Geigy which makes Habitrol, Marion Merrell Dow with Nicoderm and American Cyanamid with ProStep - have conceded that they underestimated the size of the US market, which recent estimates have put at over $1 billion a year.

For Marion Merrell Dow in particular, the Nicoderm shortage seems to be hitting hard, notes the Journal. The second product to be launched after Ciba-Geigy's Habitrol, Nicoderm was rapidly making in-roads into the market, but was the first product to disappear from pharmacy shelves. The Journal notes that this may be because Alza Corp, the licensor of the product, does not have sufficient capacity to expand. As Nicoderm users defected to other products, its market share declined from 42% in February to 27% in April.