THE CHANGING US ANALGESIA MARKET

The $2.38 billion US over-the-counter analgesics market is set for a period of great changes, heralded by the launch of Procter & Gamble's Aleve (naproxen). P&G is marketing the drug in the USA under an agreement with its developer, Syntex.

A $100 million marketing campaign is planned for the product, which is the first new OTC analgesic to come onto the US market since ibuprofen was launched there in 1984. P&G said that the price of the product would be similar to that of American Home Products' Advil (ibuprofen), but has the advantage over this product of a longer action; Advil cover lasts up to eight hours while Aleve provides eight-to-12 hour protection. The company has said that it will pitch Aleve particularly to patients with arthritis or muscle aches, and has designed a child-resistant package which is easy for adult arthritis sufferers to open.

Retailers have said that P&G is predicting first-year sales of $200 million for Aleve, which would immediately place it in the number three spot behind Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol and Advil. They feel that Aleve will take more sales away from the category's weaker brands such as Bayer Asprin, Bufferin and Nuprin, than the two leading products. Sterling Drug, which makes Bayer Asprin, said that it did not expect to lose business disproportionately to other analgesic brands.