Hyland’s Naturals is introducing Baby Cough & Immune Daytime and Kids Cough & Mucus Daytime + Nighttime.

All Hyland’s Naturals remedies are allergen free, cruelty-free, paraben free and alcohol free; vegetarian-friendly; and contain no artificial colorings or dyes, the company said.

Hyland’s Naturals Baby Cough & Immune Daytime is a Walmart exclusive. The product is intended to help soothe baby’s cough from a dry, irritated throat while promoting healthy immune function. 

Key ingredients include organic elderberry, a botanical known for its dark purple berries; organic agave, a syrup produced from a succulent plant known to soothe coughs and dry scratchy throats; and organic pomegranate, a fruit juice know for antioxidant support.

Hyland’s Naturals Kids Cough & Mucus Daytime will be available on Hylands.com and Amazon, as well as at Walmart, Target, Walgreens and Rite Aid.

Key ingredients include bryonia alba, a wild vine in the gourd family used to provide relief from sore throat and mucus in throat and cough, and pulsatilla, a spring-blooming flower that helps aid fussiness and relieve coughs and stuffy noses by clearing up the accumulation of mucus.

Hyland’s Naturals Kids Cough & Mucus Nighttime will be available on Hylands.com and Amazon, as well as at Walmart, Target, Walgreens and CVS.

Key ingredients include chamomile, a small, daisy-like flower used medicinally since antiquity, soothing relief of irritability, insomnia and restlessness; and pulsatilla, a spring-blooming flower that helps aid fussiness and relieve coughs and stuffy noses by clearing up the accumulation of mucus. 

Re+Play, the performance-based wellness and recovery line of Harrington Wellness, has formed a multi-year partnership with The National Basketball Players Association, or NBPA, and will sell its recovery-promoting products at Amazon and Walmart.

The multi-year product development plan brings products to the masses, including topicals, kinesiology tape and massage guns, among other naturally infused pain products.

“Re+Play’s partnership with the NBPA will provide consumers with a wealth of trusted, technology-driven products to help them recover like a pro,” said Al Harrington, CEO of Harrington Wellness and former NBPA member.

“As we move into the next phase of the Re+Play brand with our strategic partners at Amazon, the NBPA and Walmart, we are excited to once again reimagine how we help athletes of all levels recover from pain with CBD and other innovative technology,” he said.

The first product release from this new union is a line of recovery creams developed in partnership with Avicanna, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of plant-derived, cannabinoid-based products.

“It was important that we developed a product that was clearly evidence-based and targeted at improving muscle recovery,” said Sanford Kunkel, chief medical officer at Harrington Wellness and Re+Play. “Through our partnership with Avicanna, we were able to develop our line at its R&D headquarters in the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center, JLABS, giving us a significant competitive product advantage.’’

This new Re+Play product can be purchased at replayrecovery.com and will soon be available through the Replay Recovery Store on Amazon.com and Walmart.com.

ScriptDrop, a healthcare technology company focused on prescription access, and Roadie, a UPS company and crowdsourced delivery platform, are expanding their partnership that began in 2020.

At the time, ScriptDrop needed a nationwide partner that could enable same-day and urgent delivery in a systematic, safe and scalable way.

ScriptDrop has graduated from manually posting delivery requests to Roadie’s platform to a full API integration, allowing both partners to mutually benefit from a streamlined workflow. Thanks in large part to Roadie’s reliable network and pre-screened drivers, ScriptDrop has significantly expanded its delivery footprint in all 50 states over the past 12 months, the company said.

[Read more: 2022 NACDS Total Store Expo product showcase]

Recently ScriptDrop announced the release of its annual prescription access industry report, “Everything Old Is New Again: Social Determinants of Health and the Role of Prescription Delivery in Home Health Care.” This year, the report focuses in part on social determinants of health, which are non-medical factors that affect a person’s health. Examples of SDOH are “healthcare access and quality,” which includes a person’s vicinity to healthcare facilities and pharmacies.

ScriptDrop noted that over 40% of U.S. counties are considered pharmacy deserts, or geographic areas without easy access to a pharmacy. Many of these are rural counties. However, disparity exists in cities as well. In urban areas, Black and Latino neighborhoods are much more likely to be pharmacy deserts than primarily white neighborhoods, the company said.

“Seventy percent of patients who use ScriptDrop delivery for their recurring prescriptions never miss a delivery and have their meds in hand every month,” said Amanda Epp, CEO ofScriptDrop. “It’s clear that this partnership with Roadie has helped us begin to overcome negative social determinants of health and improve long-term health outcomes.” 

[Read more: REX Awards 2022: Technology and Automation]

Roadie’s large, local same-day delivery network and expertise in last-mile logistics have made it possible for ScriptDrop to offer safe, secure, same-day delivery to patients no matter where they live.

“When it comes to accessing quality health care, your zip code shouldn’t be a barrier to getting what you need,” said Marc Gorlin, CEO of Roadie. “Fast, frictionless delivery isn’t a nice-to-have for many industries; it’s table stakes. And with ScriptDrop, it’s a path to more equitable communities. We’re proud to work with ScriptDrop to expand healthcare access nationwide.”

BioFilm , the makers of Astroglide personal lubricants, is introducing its newest wellness brand, BioShell.

The brand’s debut product, BioShell Germ Defense for Your Mouth, is being touted as a simple, revolutionary, pocket-sized oral antiseptic. The company said that the product guards against infection by coating the throat and mouth with a thin, invisible antibacterial film that traps most germs before they have a chance to make you sick.

“The take-anywhere bottle is the perfect companion for travel, days in the office, large gatherings or events, and more. To use, simply spray BioShell Germ Defense in your mouth one to three times before entering crowded situations like planes, trains, concerts and meetings. It can be used up to three times a day for up to seven days,” BioFilm said. 

“Today’s consumers are looking for uncomplicated ways to be and stay healthy,” said Lisa O’Carroll, BioFilm CEO. “So we took our 30-plus years of experience making quality wellness products and dedicated ourselves to introducing easy-to-use, powerfully effective illness prevention products that are designed with modern lifestyles in mind, making wellness simple for consumers every single day.” 

BioShell Germ Defense for Your Mouth is suitable for ages 12 years old and older. It is available for purchase on Amazon and will be in the cough-cold and flu section of local drug stores and pharmacies later this year, the company said.

With the National Community Pharmacists Association’s 2022 Annual Convention approaching, the organization is highlighting some of the speakers who will address attendees of the in-person event taking place Oct. 1 to 4 in Kansas City, Mo.

With the theme of the convention, “Team Up! Where Teamwork Makes It All Work,” NCPA shared that Mike Abrashoff, former commander of the USS Benfold and author of three books, is scheduled to speak during the first general session on Oct. 2.

Abrashoff was the most-junior officer in the Pacific Fleet when he took command of the near-worst performing ship. Twelve months later, the USS Benfold was the best ship in the entire Navy, using the same crew. The story of that stunning transformation has lessons for every organization: leadership matters and culture is everything. He offers clear, battle-tested and actionable steps, and shows people at every level of an organization how to engage and take incremental steps that can make a dramatic difference.

“I didn’t turn the ship around — my crew did that,” he said. “What I did was to create an environment where they felt safe, empowered and supported. When you do that, anything is possible.”

Will Flanary is scheduled to speak during the second general session on Oct. 3. Flanary is an ophthalmologist and comedian, who moonlights in his free time as “Dr. Glaucomflecken” on social media to an audience of over 2.5 million.

Effortlessly blending observational medical humor with biting satire, he has spent years entertaining healthcare professionals on a variety of topics, including the horrors of health insurance. He has a passion for bringing humor to health care and is a frequent keynote speaker to audiences across all of medicine. One of his latest bits skewers massive pharmacy benefit managers, the healthcare middlemen often condemned by independent pharmacists and many others.

For more information and to register, click here.

Michele Belcher, president of the National Community Pharmacists Association and owner of Grants Pass Pharmacy in Grants Pass, Ore., recently joined Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure at River Road Health Mart Pharmacy in Eugene.

Also present was Brian Marr, owner of River Road Health Mart Pharmacy; Roberto Linares, part-time pharmacist from Rice’s Pharmacy in Corvallis and full-time instructor at the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University; and John and Ann Murray, owners of Murray Drug, which has locations in Heppner, Condon and Boardman.

The group discussed efforts to combat high prescription drug prices, protecting small business independent pharmacies and preserving access for the patients they serve.

[Read more: NCPA, 207 stakeholders support bipartisan Senate bill empowering FTC action against PBMs]

Belcher said that NCPA is grateful to policymakers for advancing policies to end retroactive clawbacks. On behalf of the organization, she thanked Wyden for his efforts to have the Federal Trade Commission conduct a study of pharmacy benefit managers.

Belcher expressed concern that PBMs will continue to ratchet down pharmacy reimbursement and urged Wyden to support the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act (S. 4293), which would give the FTC greater authority to hold PBMs accountable for unfair and deceptive practices that drive up the costs of drugs at the expense of consumers. She also recommended that Brooks-LaSure and the Biden administration extend the various flexibilities (diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, etc.) afforded to pharmacists by the COVID-19 public health emergency after it ends.

“Local pharmacies like mine and others represented at this discussion are an important part of the national healthcare infrastructure; we are a safety net to many patients,” Belcher said.

[Read more: NCPA survey: Three-quarters of community pharmacies report staff shortages]

“At the urging of NCPA and so many others, policymakers are taking steps toward fixing the broken prescription drug payment model, but there’s more to be done to foster successful pharmacies and healthier, happier patients,” she said. “We appreciate working with Sen. Wyden and administrator Brooks-LaSure on accomplishing these goals and supporting the pharmacist-provided services that have proven so essential to the health of our country.”