ABSTRACT
The intense levels of competition present in the topical antimicrobial market, as well as the ever-tightening U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) product performance standards, demand that antimicrobial manufacturers produce products that meet market requirements [1]. Present market requirements are not just antimicrobial effectiveness; they also include low skin irritation potential, ease of use, aesthetically pleasing, and various other ‘‘soft’’ attributes. If these have been addressed, the product more than likely has been developed with adequate care. But too often manufacturers ignore important factors and merely get a product to market to compete with those of competitors. In the end, this approach often fails; the product never really is accepted in the market [2]. Because the goal is to introduce products into the market that will be successful, manufacturers are urged to develop products from a multidimensional perspective. At least four factors should be addressed: societal, cultural, personal objective, and personal subjective to address human requirements. Let us look at this multidimensional perspective in greater detail.
