In this article we will talk about how Proton Pump Inhibitors like Omeprazole, Esomeprazole and Pantoprazole have side effects. We will also talk about how the US Food and Drug administration limits the consumption of these drugs.
Have you ever heard of any of these drugs?
- Omeprazole
- Esomeprazole
- Rabeprazole
- Pantoprazole
- Dexlansoprazole
You may have heard of them somewhere. They are the largest selling drugs for gastrointestinal disorders, GERD or ACIDITY.
Let me give you an statistic.
In 2013, just a single brand of Esomeprazole had a quarterly sales of about 1.5 billion dollars just in the US and UK market.
This give you an idea of what kind of volumes I am talking about?
Source: Wikipedia
Surprisingly, all of the above listed drugs belong to one category – Proton pump inhibitors (PPI).
“Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a group of drugs whose main action is a pronounced and long-lasting reduction of gastric acid production. Within the class of medications, there is no clear evidence that one agent works better than another”
Source: NCBI
They are prescribed mainly for treatment of the following symptoms:
- Acid reflux
- GERD
- Gastro intestinal disease
- Acidity
- Hiatal hernia
Lets talk about how many people are taking these medicines. With such high numbers in sales, it is obvious the numbers are huge. But how huge, to be precise?
