The "next
Purple Pill". Supposedly a more powerful successor to
Prilosec, this relatively new medication (esomeprazole magnesium) by
AstraZeneca relieves
heartburn and prevents erosion of the esophagus caused by
acid reflux disease (a malfunction of the
lower esophageal sphincter which repeatedly permits
stomach acid to churn up into the
esophagus).
Nexium is supposedly superior to its predecessor because it is Prilosec which has been refined to include more of the part of the medication that actually works. Or something like that.
Supposedly. According to my gastroenterologist, the medicine does seem to work marginally better than Prilosec did. But he says it's because in practice the dosage in which Nexium is manufactured is larger than that of the other pill, so the stomach is getting more of the medicine.
It turns out Prilosec was losing its 17-year patent and generic drug makers would soon be given the right to create a generic form. So our friends at A.Z. decided they'd better slightly rework and rebrand their hot-selling item in order to be able to acquire a new patent. That way they can keep their lead in the market and keep the cash cow injected with BGH. Gotta love the pharmaceutical companies. It's all about the money, my esophagus be damned!