Word: acidated
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...statement after another is superimposed on the solar surface: "The idea behind it led to the Nobel Prize in Medicine," reads the first, followed by, "It's the most prescribed medication of its kind." As the sun is gradually eclipsed, the boasts continue: "It helps block production of stomach acid." "It's the world's first acid blocker." Then, against the glowing corona of a totally eclipsed sun, "And now it's available without a prescription." Finally the eclipsed image resolves into the illustration on a drug package labeled Tagamet HB, under which is inscribed, "Now for heartburn...
Relief from heartburn has been provided for more than a century by antacids that include such familiar brands as Tums, Rolaids, Maalox and Mylanta, products that annually rack up sales approaching $1 billion in the U.S. alone. These antacids, which bring relief within minutes, work by neutralizing the stomach acid that causes heartburn. But because the stomach continues to produce acid, they remain effective for only a few hours...
...spurred by the expiration of patent rights on the acid blockers and growing competition from lower-priced generic drugs, the pharmaceutical firms are seeking and winning approval from the Food and Drug Administration for over-the-counter sales of somewhat milder versions of the blockers. At stake as the companies tout these products, say industry analysts, is an additional $1 billion in sales for heartburn medications. "This is a blockbuster," says Paul Kelly, president of Silvermine Consulting Group, in Westport, Connecticut. "It's the most dramatic medical launch since Advil." Two acid blockers, Tagamet HB and Pepcid AC, have begun...
Introduced in the U.S. by SmithKline Beecham in 1977 and under patent protection for 17 years, Tagamet was the pioneer acid blocker. Worldwide it has earned the company a total of $14 billion and was the first drug ever to chalk up $1 billion in sales in a single year. But in the late 1980s, anticipating the worst when its Tagamet patent ran out in 1994, SmithKline began conducting clinical trials and seeking FDA approval of an over-the-counter version. The wisdom of that decision became evident when Tagamet sales plummeted from $600 million in 1993 to only...
...Wurtman says that since MIT did not patent the drug, no one else was allowed to do so, since only inventors can patent a product. A consequence of the lack of a patent, Wurtman says, was that no one could perform safety studies on the amino acid...