Omeprazole - History

History

Omeprazole was first marketed in the U.S. in 1989 by Astra AB, now AstraZeneca under the brand names Losec and Prilosec. An over the counter brand, Prilosec OTC, is available without prescription in the US for treatment of heartburn. It is now also available from generic manufacturers under various brand names.

In 1990, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the brand name Losec was changed to Prilosec to avoid confusion with the diuretic Lasix (furosemide). The new name has led to confusion between omeprazole (Prilosec) and fluoxetine (Prozac), an antidepressant.

AstraZeneca markets omeprazole as Losec, Antra, Gastroloc, Mopral, Omepral, and Prilosec. Omeprazole is marketed as Zegerid by Santarus, Prilosec OTC by Procter & Gamble and Zegerid OTC by Schering-Plough and as Segazole by Star Laboratories in Pakistan. In the Philippines, Ajanta Pharma markets omeprazole under the brand name Zegacid.Dr. Reddy's Laboratories markets it as Omez in India, Russia, Romania, and South Africa. In Bangladesh Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Ltd. marketed omeprazole under the brand name Opal. In Bangladesh Apex Pharma also markets omeprazole under the brand name Aspra. It is also available under the brand name Rome 20 marketed by Rephco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. In Bangladesh the brand leader in this market is Seclo. In Argentina it is made by Bago Laboratories S.A. and available there and in Ecuador as Ulcozol. In Indonesia Darya-Varia Laboratories marketed omeprazole as Ozid. In Brazil, omeprazole is produced by Multilab under the name Lozeprel. In Spain it is produced by Cantabria Pharma S.L. under the name emeprotón. In Bangladesh, Eskayef Bangladesh Limited also marketed omeprazole under the brand name Losectil.

In 1999, antiulcerants were the leading class of therapeutic drugs, with $15.6 billion in global sales. Of that, Prilosec accounted for $5.91 billion, making it the best-selling drug on the market.

Although Prilosec's U.S. patent expired in April 2001, AstraZeneca was able to delay the introduction of generic versions though lawsuits and peripheral patent claims. It introduced Nexium as a patented replacement drug.