Walgreens - the Superpower

Walgreens September Sales Increase 9.5 Percent;Opens 6,000^th Store

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG) had September sales of $4,413,000,000, an increase of 9.5 percent from $4,031,527,000 for the same month in 2006. Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) rose 4.7 percent.

September pharmacy sales increased 8.8 percent, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 3.9 percent. Comparable pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 3.8 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months.Total prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 1.6 percent. Pharmacy sales accounted for 66.4 percent of total sales for the month.

Comparable store front-end sales increased 6.3 percent during September.

Calendar day shifts accounted for a negative impact of 1.6 percentage points on comparable pharmacy sales. Patients fill more prescriptions on weekdays compared to weekends, and this year’s September had one additional Sunday and one fewer Friday compared to September 2006.

Calendar year-to-date sales were $40,357,306,000, an increase of 11.9 percent from $36,056,997,000 in 2006.

Walgreens fiscal year began Sept. 1, so fiscal year-to-date sales are the same as the month’s sales.

Walgreens opened 18 stores during September, including two relocations, and acquired one store. The company opened its 6,000th store in New Orleans and will celebrate the grand opening in October.

At Sept. 30, Walgreens operated 6,014 drugstores (including 101 home care division locations, eight specialty pharmacies and three mail service facilities) in 48 states and Puerto Rico, versus 5,475 a year ago. Franchisees of Option Care, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens, are not included in Walgreens store count.

Please note: Monthly sales numbers are preliminary and unaudited. Comparable stores are defined as those locations open for at least 12 consecutive months without closure for seven or more consecutive days and without a major remodel or a natural disaster in the past 12 months. Relocated and acquired stores are not included as comparable stores for the first 12 months after the relocation or acquisition.

Alli - a new name = magic for the nonmedical community, apparently

Alli was born over-the-counter recently. It's the old Xenical drug (Orlistat) made by GlaxoSmithKline. Have you ever tried this medication personally? I have to share. Though, I will warn you, this is definitely TMI (too much information for those of you not into text messaging, short cuts, or the current way to speak... LOL). I took Xenical when it came out. Um (blushing) embarrassed to say I bought 5 capsules from the independent pharmacy I was working for... I know I know... unethical right? ANYWAY! There's issues with loss of Vitamins A, D, E, and K absorptions and also the potential for ANAL LEAKAGE. Yep. Anal Leakage.

What is anal leakage? Well it's where you can't control the oil slick coming out of your ass. I remember being horrified thinking, "Oh oh." Ran in a heated sprint to the bathroom (luckily at home!) and immediately there was a layer of OIL that spread out in the toilet water. OIL. What in God's name???

The new nonprescription diet drug Alli is flying off store shelves, but most people who use it will lose very little weight and may experience embarrassing side effects.

• Forum: About 20% of people who use Alli will lose 10% or more of their body weight. But most don't lose much weight at all, and some suffer embarrassing gastrointestinal side effects. Will you try the pill? Join a discussion.

Pharmacies are reporting brisk sales of Alli (pronounced like the noun "ally"), which is sold by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and is the first over-the-counter diet drug to win FDA approval. Unlike other prescription weight-loss drugs such as Meridia and the generic phentermine, Alli doesn't make you feel full, reduce cravings or curb your appetite. Instead, it prevents the body from breaking down and absorbing fat.

The active ingredient in Alli is orlistat, which is found in a higher dose in the prescription diet drug Xenical. Alli blocks about 25% of the fat you eat; Xenical blocks one-third of the fat you ingest. For instance, a half-cup serving of Haagen-Dazs ice cream has about 320 calories and 19 grams of fat. Alli, which is taken with meals, would prevent the body from absorbing about 4.75 fat grams or about 43 calories. If you consume about 2,000 calories a day and eat about 30% fat, the fat-blocking benefits of Alli would translate to about 150 calories a day. A pound of weight loss equals 3,500 calories.

Here's what users of orlistat, the ingredient in Alli, can expect from the weight-loss drug:

• One in five will lose 10% or more of body weight

• Half will lose less than 5% of their body weight

• Side effects include gas, oily discharge and loose stools

The downside of Alli is the fat it blocks can come out of your body in embarrassing ways. The Glaxo Web site, myalli.com, warns the drug can cause gas with oily discharge as well as frequent or loose stools. The site suggests it's probably a "smart idea" to wear dark pants and bring a change of clothes to work if you use Alli.

To avoid the side effects, Glaxo suggests limiting fat intake to 15 grams a meal. Many Americans consume 80 to 100 grams of fat a day. Glaxo officials concede that many people would lose weight on their own with a diet that's moderate in fat, but that the pill helps them lose more weight.

"If you'd lose 10 pounds on a diet, you'll lose 15 pounds by adding Alli to your diet,'' says Vidhu Bansal, director of medical affairs for Glaxo's consumer-health division.

If someone is consuming a diet already low in fat and high in carbohydrates, they likely won't get much benefit from Alli. However, doctors say most people are eating far more fat than they realize.

Orlistat has been used by an estimated 28 million people world-wide, and studied in 30,000 subjects in about 100 trials. In a 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association report, 1,187 dieters, who weighed an average of 220 pounds, took either a placebo or 120 mg of orlistat (twice the dose of Alli). After one year, individuals in the orlistat group lost an average of 19.27 pounds, about 50% more than the 12.8-pound average weight loss in the placebo group.

Yeah, um, I don't know about this one... I can see it now. Misinformed customers buying the drug and LOTS and LOTS of accidents in the underwear!

Avandia

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert on May 21, 2007 informing healthcare providers of a potential cardiovascular safety issue raised by a recent meta-analysis (Nissen, 2007). Nissen and Wolski reviewed 42 randomized, controlled studies (each >6 months duration) in patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Each study included compared rosiglitazone (as monotherapy or in combination regimens that include a sulfonylurea, metformin, and/or insulin) to a control group (another diabetic agent or placebo). The meta-analysis tabulated the number of myocardial infarctions and cardiovascular deaths from each trial. Of the 42 studies, 38 reported at least 1 MI and 22 reported at least 1 CV related death. The meta-analysis evaluated 15,560 patients who received regimens that included rosiglitazone and 12,283 patients in the group without rosiglitazone. In comparing the rosiglitazone group to the control group, the odds ratio for myocardial infarction was 1.43 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.98; p=0.03). The odds ratio for death from cardiovascular disease was 1.64 (95% CI, 0.98 to 2.74; p=0.06). Rosiglitazone was associated with a significant risk of myocardial infarction in this pooled analysis. The clinical significance of these initial results is unclear and the data has not been reviewed by the FDA. The agency is currently assessing the information. Healthcare providers should be aware of these developments and await further information as more becomes available.