Company focuses on pediatrics

Ascent Pediatrics Inc., Wilmington, DE, a new pharmaceutical firm devoted exclusively to products for children, launched its first three products in November of 1997.

The products are Feverall,® an acetaminophen suppository brand for fever reduction and pain relief; Just for Kids™ Vitamin Drops, a liquid multivitamin; and Pediamist,® a nasal saline mist for relief of dry nasal passages. To specifically meet the needs of children, the products were developed to taste good, require reduced dosing frequency, have minimal side-effects and employ improved delivery systems.

A sales force of 65 pediatric sales specialists will contact pediatricians nationwide about the new products and the need for increased compliance among children. The pediatric market of children under the age of 12 in the United States is estimated at approximately 47 million.

"Children are not miniature adults and their needs are not the same as adults," said Emmett Clemente, Ph.D., Ascent Pediatric's founder and chairman. "Our strategy at Ascent is to meet the challenge of developing products with the goal of increasing compliance among children. After all, what good is a medicine if a child doesn't take it?" PR