Perrigo Announces FDA Clearance And Launch Of Non-GMO* Infant Formulas For The U.S. Store Brand Market

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Jun 21, 2016, 08:29 ET

DUBLIN, June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO; TASE), today announced it has received final U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") clearance for three milk-based, store brand non-GMO infant formulas. Shipments to retail customers have already commenced.

Perrigo introduced non-GMO formulas for consumers who prefer non-GMO versions of existing products. The non-GMO infant formulas are produced using ingredients that have not been genetically engineered and are nutritionally comparable to nationally advertised brands. As indicated on the product labels, parents can compare Store Brand:

Infant Non-GMO to the nutrition of Enfamil® Infant Non-GMO.^†
Advantage® Non-GMO to the nutrition of Similac® Advance® Non-GMO.^†
Sensitivity® Non-GMO to the nutrition of Similac Sensitive® Non-GMO.^†

Perrigo's CEO, John T. Hendrickson stated, "We know that today's millennial mom is more demanding than ever. Whether she chooses conventional, non-GMO, or organic infant formulas, Perrigo is committed to providing her with a safe, high quality, and nutritious infant formula to meet her baby's needs for growth and development."

In less than a year, the nationally advertised brands Enfamil® and Similac® introduced more than ten non-GMO infant formulas in the United States. Non-GMO infant formulas typically cost up to 15 percent more than conventional formulas. According to IRI data, sales of non-GMO infant formulas already exceed $45 million. Store Brand non-GMO infant formulas can save parents more than 45 percent versus nationally advertised brands.**

Prominent medical and regulatory agencies, including the FDA, vigorously review genetically engineered ingredients and foods for safety. Genetically engineered food ingredients have safely been used in food production for more than 30 years. Conventional formulas, as well as non-GMO and organic formulas, offer complete nutrition and meet the same FDA safety and quality standards.

Perrigo is a leading U.S. manufacturer and supplier of infant formula. The company's ISO 9001:2008-certified, cGMP facilities are inspected annually by the FDA and based in the U.S.A. Dairy ingredients are sourced from leading dairy markets, including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

For information on non-GMO formula, visit http://www.babyformula.com/non-gmo/.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc, a top five global over-the-counter ("OTC") consumer goods and pharmaceutical company, offers patients and customers high quality products at affordable prices. From its beginnings in 1887 as a packager of generic home remedies, Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of OTC products and supplier of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company is also a leading provider of generic extended topical prescription products and receives royalties from Multiple Sclerosis drug Tysabri®. Perrigo provides Quality Affordable Healthcare Products® across a wide variety of product categories and geographies primarily in North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as other markets, including Israel, China and Latin America. Visit Perrigo online at (http://www.perrigo.com).

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including the timing, amount and cost of share repurchases, future impairment charges, our ability to achieve our guidance and the ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced initiatives. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-KT for the six-month period ended December 31, 2015, and form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2016 as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

* Non-GMO means the ingredients were not genetically engineered.

† Enfamil® is a registered trademark of Mead Johnson & Co. Similac®, Advance® and Similac Sensitive® are registered trademarks of Abbott Laboratories. OptiGRO™ is a trademark of Abbott Laboratories. Store Brand Infant Formulas are not made by or affiliated with Mead Johnson & Co. or Abbott Laboratories. Store Brand Advantage® and Sensitivity® Infant Formulas do not contain the identical proprietary ingredient blend of prebiotics, patented levels of nucleotides, lutein, and lycopene in Similac® Advance® and Similac Sensitive®.

**Total savings with Store Brand Infant Formula calculations based on a price per fl. oz. comparison of Store Brand Infant Formulas and their comparable national brands. Retail prices are from an April 2016 retail price survey of assorted stores. Actual prices and savings may vary by store and location.

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SOURCE Perrigo Company plc