The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) awarded its Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award to industry veteran Jim Mackey on March 20 at its annual Self-Care Leadership Summit in Orlando, Florida.
Each year, the award recognizes the outstanding contributions of one individual who has created a lasting impact on the U.S. consumer healthcare industry and directly improved self-care for consumers. It is named after Ivan Combe, an industry pioneer who served on CHPA’s board of directors from 1958 until 2000. The honoree is chosen based on three core attributes:
- Professional excellence and a passion for improving the lives of healthcare consumers.
- Outstanding leadership and involvement in industry activities.
- A commitment to giving back to the community.
Mackey started his career as a sales merchandiser for a pharmaceutical manufacturer formerly known as Sterling Drug before joining Whitehall Labs, a division of American Home Products, where he was named vice president of sales at the age of 28. In that role, Mackey helped launch one of the most successful Rx-to-OTC switches in U.S. history with the launch of Advil in 1984.
Mackey then spent nearly two decades at Schering-Plough, where he helped bring Claritin and MiraLAX to the OTC market. Following the acquisition of Schering-Plough by Merck in 2009, he capped off his corporate career by helping to negotiate the acquisition of Merck Consumer by Bayer in 2014.
Additionally, CHPA president and CEO Scott Melville, said in a media release, “[Mackey’s] service on CHPA’s board of directors, including as our chairman from 2013 to 2014, led to progress on key industry initiatives, including relaunching CHPA’s educational foundation and beginning the effort to modernize the OTC monograph system.”
Melville added that Mackey’s greatest mark on the industry was perhaps “his leadership in organizing an industry response to the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, which placed OTC pseudoephedrine (PSE) behind the counter and led states to consider making PSE a prescription product.”
Mackey has also helped his community as a mentor, volunteer at nonprofit organizations, and as an advisor and board member to Ways 2 Wellness, a publishing venture focused on improving the lives of seniors, their communities and care givers.
View a list of past Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award winners here.