Approximately 100 million Americans suffer the pain and discomfort of heartburn. It is commonly treated by over-the-counter medications such as antacids or H2-blockers. Antacids neutralize stomach acid and provide rapid but short-term relief. H2-blockers impede production of acid, generally lasting six to 12 hours but can take up to one-and-ahalf hours to provide relief. Intuitively, the combination of the two medications should give quick and long-term relief from heartburn.
But leaders in the medical field had written extensively that simultaneous use of the two products would significantly weaken the benefits of the H2-blocker.
M. Michael Wolfe, M.D., then a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, believed there was a way to combine the two medications to offer fast and long-term relief for heartburn sufferers. In 1990 Wolfe successfully developed this dual-action drug; his discovery involved finding a way to combine the drugs while retaining their medicinal properties.
Pepcid® Complete became the first and only non-prescription combination heartburn tablet that effectively and safely delivered fast and long-lasting relief.
In 1993 Wolfe, presently chief of gastroenterology at Boston University Medical Center, obtained a patent for the medication and the FDA approved it in 2000. As a result of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital license, J & J Merck developed Pepcid® Complete, which is distributed over the counter worldwide and provides heartburn relief to millions of people.
In July 2006, Best Life magazine voted it the best over-the-counter drug for heartburn.
This story was originally published in 2007.
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