Nutramax takes Cosequin OTC, makes bid to fend off future Internest diversion

BALTIMORE — Nutramax Laboratories is taking Cosequin® over-the-counter because of Internet bootlegging, but says new distribution-control strategies are in place to save its newest generation product, DasuquinTM , from meeting the same fate.

Todd Henderson, DVM, of Nutramax Laboratories, says the diversion of the joint health supplement Cosequin became so widespread the company opted to take it over-the-counter rather than fight "a losing battle."

Its next generation joint health product, Dasuquin, will continue to be sold exclusively through veterinarians, Henderson tells DVM Newsmagazine.

"We have learned a lot about how the Internet operates, and we are putting more safeguards in place for the future," in a bid to protect the veterinary distribution channel, he says.

Yet for Cosequin, "the horse left the barn. It is uncontrollable at this point," Henderson says. "We would sue one (unauthorized distributor) and shut down the diversion, and then the products would pop up somewhere else.

"What we are trying to do is put forth a series of ways to make it difficult for products to make it to Internet sites. If one does, it will need to pass through three or four hands, and the price will go through the roof. Vets should be able to compete. But there is difficulty in trying to tighten the screws."

Nutramax cites these steps to control unauthorized distributor sales:

• Strict distributor contracts.

• Product-sales tracking data from clinics to monitor for diversion.

• Attempts to block unauthorized keyword searches through Internet search engines like Google. "If an Internet site can't buy the name, they have a hard tiime marketing it," Henderson adds.