Like aspirin and Advil, Aleve is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It works almost identically to ibuprofen-Advil-which in 1984 became the first prescription NSAID approved for over-the-counter sale. Both interfere with the body’s production of Prostaglandins, which cause inflammation, pain and fever. NSAIDs usually clear the body in four to six hours, but Aleve has a long natural half-life. Tylenol, the best-selling analgesic with 32 percent of the market, relieves neither swelling nor inflammation; remarkably, pharmacologists don’t know exactly how it relieves other pain. It, too, usually lasts only a few hours, but two 650-mg caplets of the new Tylenol Extended Relief are expected to provide up to eight hours of pain relief as an outer layer of medication is absorbed quickly while an inner core is released over time.
Of course, it helps if the sufferer can open the $#%o#! bottle. The makers of Advil will introduce, in August, an easy-opening cap, and Motrin recently spruced up its product line with a similar “FastCap.” Aleve’s marketing strategy trumpets an easy-open cap, too-which makes Aleve just the thing for the millions of aging baby boomers who are losing more battles against childproof caps than they’re winning. But that’s not why the government approved it, suspects Larry Feinberg of financial analysts Oracle Partners in New York: “The baby boomers are aging. Getting people to treat themselves at home is cheaper than going to the doctor,” and thus better for the nation’s out-of-control health-care costs.
The maker of the oldest soother of them all, Bayer aspirin, takes a “What, me worry?” attitude to the new competition. “We don’t think Aleve will pull many customers away,” says Chris Kilbane of Sterling Winthrop. That’s because many Bayer fans take it to prevent heart attack, and Sterling plans an advertising push to remind consumers of aspirin’s heart-saving potential.
If all this sounds like a great way to increase the clutter in America’s medicine cabinets, it is. But it’s more. The increased competition should lower prices, which lately have had consumers reeling from sticker shock. Also, the drugs differ not only in how-and how well-they work in any individual but also in what side effects they produce. Aspirin, ibuprofen and Aleve can cause heartburn and, less commonly, ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding; Tylenol, while gentle, is less effective against menstrual cramps, muscle strain and joint pain. With the new offerings, patients who don’t respond to the old drugs, or who can’t tolerate the side effects, may at last find some relief. Sometimes, more really is more.
