Pfizer launches 'Purple Pill' Nexium 24HR onto OTC shelves

NEW YORK — Pfizer on Tuesday announced the introduction in the United States of over-the-counter Nexium 24HR, making the "Purple Pill" available for the treatment of frequent heartburn in adults. 

“The addition of Nexium 24HR to our portfolio enhances our ability to help consumers better manage their health,” said Paul Sturman, president and general manager, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. “Nexium 24HR creates a new option for treating frequent heartburn with the confidence of a brand that consumers and healthcare providers know and trust. The OTC availability of Nexium 24HR in the U.S. marks the first step in our efforts to build a strong, global position in digestive health with this powerful brand.”

“Switching a brand with this kind of loyalty and equity is a tremendous business opportunity, and we have a critical responsibility to our partners, to our retail customers, to healthcare providers and most importantly, to consumers,” commented T.J. Higgins, North American president, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. “Nexium 24HR protects people from frequent heartburn, and also from the fear and hesitation that heartburn causes.”

“I, along with many of my colleagues, have come to trust The Purple Pill as the number one prescribed acid blocker brand,” noted David Johnson, professor of medicine and chief of Gastroenterology Eastern VA Medical School Norfolk VA. “The availability of Nexium 24HR represents an important development in access to the medication at a time when people are in need of a short term course of therapy for effective self-care solutions. And with 15 million Americans suffering from heartburn daily, making Nexium available without prescription helps to fill a crucially important unmet need.”

Pfizer acquired exclusive global OTC rights to Nexium from AstraZeneca in August 2012. Nexium 24HR was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on March 28 and received three year market exclusivity.