Hammer Ready to Drop on Supplement Industry after Presidential Election

If you can't beat them, buy them up, seems to be Big Pharma's latest strategy against the dietary supplement industry.

• Major Food & Drug Companies Begin Buying Up Supplement Companies As Drug Patents Expire.
• New FDA Safety Requirements Do Bidding For Pharma Companies Who Want To Consolidate Industry, Eliminate Competition

After the Presidential election anticipate what amounts to terrorist attacks upon the dietary supplement industry as regulatory agencies and the news media do the bidding for big business in a predictable industry takeover now that vitamin pills are yielding greater profitability and unit sales growth than the American economy as a whole and drug patent expirations force pharmaceutical companies to search for replacements for their blockbuster drugs.

Proctor & Gamble and Pfizer, two food and drug giants, announced acquisition of two dietary supplement companies, making it clear the vitamin pill business is up for grabs now that it is growing faster than the rest of the economy. One source predicts the supplement industry will grow at the clip of 9% per year during 2011-15. For comparison, the entire US economy is in the doldrums with less than a 2% annual growth rate. This growth is attracting pariahs and predictable pressure from regulatory agencies to rid the industry of competition. Read more