Are PPIs created equal?
Executive Summary
Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs recommends Procter & Gamble's Prilosec OTC, primarily due to cost advantages with the OTC proton pump inhibitor. The latest report compares Prilosec and Prilosec OTC, AstraZeneca's Nexium, TAP's Prevacid, Schering-Plough/Santarus' combination Zegerid, Wyeth's Protonix and Johnson & Johnson/Eisai's Aciphex and concludes that the drugs "are roughly equal in effectiveness and safety, but differ in cost." The report also suggests that claims by AstraZeneca that Nexium is the best drug for people with GERD and esophagitis are "marginal at best." AstraZeneca responds that Nexium controls stomach acid production better than any brand PPI and that the blockbuster PPI is clinically proven to heal damage to the esophagus, which Prilosec OTC has not demonstrated...