In 2004 sales of Tylenol (excluding sales to hospitals, nursing homes, and Wal-Mart stores) totalled $786.5 million. In 2006 the division of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson that markets Tylenol generated revenue of $2.7 billion. American Home Products made $116.6 million just from sales of Advil (ibuprofen) in that same year
American Home Products made $116.6 million just from sales of Advil (ibuprofen) in that same year.
Sales of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics are estimated at around $2 billion per year in the US alone.
45 million Americans regularly take painkillers for chronic headaches.
32 million Americans regularly take painkillers for arthritis.
You can buy them at your local pharmacist. You can buy them at your local supermarket. You are allowed to self-medicate with them
Aleve (naproxen), an OTC NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), is manufactured by Bayer AG (net income 2007: $355.2 million from sales of $38+ billion). It was introduced in 1976.
Spending on drug advertising has gone from $11 billion in 1997 to nearly $30 billion in 2005, congressional investigators discovered. Profit margins among the leading pharmaceutical companies routinely have been three and four times higher than in other Fortune 500 industries.
Vioxx, a Cox-2 inhibitor was introduced, along with a sister drug Celebrex, in 1999. Cox-2 inhibitors are NSAIDs that target the Cox-2 enzyme responsible for inflammation. This drug was a 'miracle' for arthritis sufferers when it was introduced. A little over 12 months later they were generating 100 million prescriptions and earning $3 billion a year. In 2001 Celebrex alone was earning $3.1 billion.
Celebrex is manufactured by Pfizer (net income 2007: $8,144 million from sales of $48+ billion)
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