AstraZeneca

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office publishes 10 Prilosec OTC trademarks, with varying suffixes: OTC, Fast Action, AC, AP, Heartburn Preventer, Gelcap, Acid Inhibitor, Heartburn Blocker, PM and HB. AstraZeneca has a joint development and marketing deal with Procter & Gamble for an OTC version of omeprazole for heartburn (1"The Tan Sheet" Dec. 22, 1997, p. 2). Net sales of the Rx proton pump inhibitor in 1998 totaled $3.1 bil. A recent Campbell Mithun Esty Health study cited $50 mil. in DTC ad spending on Prilosec, which has been the subject of a new ad campaign (2"The Tan Sheet" July 19, p. 8)