OverTheCounterToday

OTC And Nutritional News Roundup: In It To Win It Edition

 

Competition in the OTC drug and nutritional product arenas rarely slows, and "The Tan Sheet" knows businesses around the world vigilantly maintain their conditioning to be ready to run, jump or defend as occasion demands. We note some news items this week that point specifically to firms striving ever onward despite hurdles or obstacles in their course.

Closure on Johnson & Johnson’s year of OTC recalls remains elusive: "The Tan Sheet" reports...

Price not a factor as Piramal looks to add OTC businesses: livemint.com says...

Opurity vitamin maker stays "China Free" course without trademark: ProSynthesis Labs says...

Arbitration panel says accidental DHEA use caused sprinter's positive tests: The Washington Post reports...

(Every week, "The Tan Sheet" reaches the finish line first with the latest developments affecting OTC drugs and nutritionals. Get your free trial subscription started by clicking here.)

Boys Of Summer Still Playing Steroid Blame Game With Supplements

FDA's recent warning and consumer alert regarding steroid-containing products states that the items sold by American Cellular Labs are not "dietary supplements" as they claim. However, elite athletes seem less concerned with making that distinction when they point to allegedly tainted supplement products as the cause of positive drug test results.

The New York Daily News reports here that Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and other Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 (the full list of players has not be released yet) could potentially attribute their test results to a "supplement" product containing the steroid nandrolone -- as opposed to injectable steroids. MLB would not consider the product, 19-norandrostenedione, a PED because it was legal in 2003.

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees previously attempted to pin the blame for a positive steroid test on supplement products, as the Daily News noted here. "The Tan Sheet" reported here that another major leaguer, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero, sued the maker of a testosterone-boosting product that led to a positive drug test and 50-game suspension. 

A story in today's issue of "The Tan Sheet" explains how FDA makes clear in its July 27 warning to ACL that the products TREN-Xtreme, Estro Xtreme and others cannot be dietary supplements by virtue of the synthetic steroids they contain. It's not clear whether this distinction will catch on among media and athletes, however.