Datril Case

Aspirin is one of the most consumed painkillers created up to this date due to its reliability and low expense. It is often used to relieve minor aches and pains, reduce fever and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Due to its wide range of uses, the demand for this pharmaceutical is very high. As a result, manufacturers who produce this drug must be efficient in order to reduce the time taken to produce this drug and produce the in very high quantities.

Separation and Purification of the Components of an Analgesic Tablet. Cora Bruno, Lab Section E. Aspirin, Caffeine and Acetaminophen were separated from four analgesic tablets of Excedrin using extraction techniques. 5% wt/vol NaHCO3, 4M HCL, ethyl acetate and deionized water were used to separate the three active components. MgSO4 was used to dry each extraction. Aspirin was isolated using a hot water bath and weighed to determine the percent theoretical recovery and the actual percent recovery of aspirin. After separation, Aspirin (ASA), Caffeine (CAF), and Acetaminophen (ACE) were purified and identified using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). Standards and purified ASA, CAF, and ACE were spotted on the silica gel (stationary phase) of the

Analgesics: i.e. Codeine, used for pain relief, side effects can be light-headedness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and sedation. Codeine can also cause allergic reactions, symptoms of which include constipation, abdominal pain, rash and itching.

Tylenol, an over the counter prescription product from Johnson & Johnson, was one of the top brands in the analgesic market. Within the company, it was also a large income earner that commanded nearly 15% of the company’s total profits. That being the case, the 1982 crisis was not only a big blow to the brand, but also to the company as a whole. The crisis jeopardized the company’s existence; putting at risk a multi million investment which the investors had a lot of faith in. Irrespective of whether the crisis was due to malicious acts from ill motivated criminals or not, the company had to act swiftly to counter the legal issues which were ensuing and mitigate huge impending losses. It was really a trying moment for the top management of Johnson & Johnson and more so to the CEO, James Burke, who faced the toughest test of his managerial career during this time. Though the crisis was amicably solved, there were some legal issues that were imminent and some valuable lessons learnt from the episode.

My recommendation to Marvin Koslow is to follow the first approach of pricing Datril at par with Tylenol ($2.85 retail price, $1.69 trade cost), leveraging Bristol-Myers’ brand name, and positioning Datril as an analgesic with similar relief effects to the those of the already successful, aspirin-based Bufferin and Excedin, but more gentle on the stomach, and without the side effects of aspirin. By doing so, Datril will primarily target aspirin users, specifically those from Bufferin’s and Excedin’s current consumer base, who suffer from upset stomach. I explain my rationale below. According to the case, when Datril was introduced to test markets per the strategy I recommended, it failed to achieve the projected sales figures within the

Anne is currently taking paracetamol for the pain in her wrist, within healthcare analgesia should always be monitored to assess whether it is achieving elimination of pain and should be adapted to the individual patient (Vargas-Schaffer, 2010). If paracetamol were not effective in eliminating Anne’s pain then practitioners should consider a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication [NSAIDS] or a mild opioid medication such as codeine as the next step (Vargas-Schaffer, 2010). However as Anne is asthmatic NSAID medication should be used with caution due to the risk of increased frequency of asthma attacks and breathlessness (Joint Formulary Committee, 2015); if Anne has taken NSAIDS before with no issue then this would be the next choice of analgesia followed by codeine if combined paracetamol and NSAID did not prove effective (Vargas-Schaffer,

During the 1900's, the McNeil company developed and established Tylenol into a well known and recommended analgesic. It has become recognized world wide as a safe brand of acetaminophen. The name Tylenol has become identified as a trusted, safe drug that people can easily purchase over the counter for their ailments. Tylenol is still recommended by doctors even though there was a cyanide scare in the history of the company. It has been discovered by my independent survey that consumers use Tylenol for their pet's needs also.

According to the systematic review covered by Apfel, Turan, Souza, Pergolizzi & Hornuss, 2013 there is a significant reduction in postoperative nausea and vomiting and opioid use when using intravenous acetaminophen. The reviewers used Medline and Cochrane databases to conduct their search along with a hand search of abstracts to identify randomized-controlled trials using intravenous acetaminophen. The review was to determine if the acetaminophen was going to have a significant decline in nausea and vomiting following surgical procedures as

In 2015, the pharmaceutical industry spent over 27 billion dollars on advertising. The two greatest components of this effort were promotional advertising and free medication sampling, which the pharmaceuticals invested 15.5 and 5.7 billion dollars respectively (“Persuading the Prescribers”). Promotional advertising involves direct contact with health professionals, the most common being extravagant lunch conferences held for physicians and their staff. On the other hand, sampling involves distributing free sample of medications to physicians, who then have a choice of providing these samples to patients. As a result of these methods, the industry has seen revenue around $400 billion with 90% of physicians having a relationship with a drug company (Campbell 2007). Moreover, the prices of prescriptions continue to rise; a copay of a generic drug is $11.72, preferred brand drug is $36.37 and a specialty drug is $58.37 (Coleman and Geneson 2014). Although the profits are immense in the numbers demonstrated above, it is no surprise when pharmaceutical drug companies elevate their prices even more. For instance, recently Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of their medication Daraprim from $13.50 to $750. Keep in mind, this medication is used for threatening parasitic infections, aids, and cancer with alternative options currently found to be inefficient (Pollack 2015). Another example of this practice involves cycloserine, a drug used to

The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety

Non-pharmacological adjuvants are non-medicinal elements which could include music, relaxation, breathing techniques, imagery, distraction, and massage (Sylvia, Carol, LeeAnn & MSN, 2011). Assessments of pain and side effects refer to the examination of a patient at regular intervals of time. Intervention and reassessment is based on changes related to previous pain and side effect assessments. Patient education is training individuals on how to manage or prevent pain with medication and activity. Goal setting is designed to aid in maintaining and reducing pain by allowing the patient, nurse, and doctor to work together in order to form a plan of pain management. All concepts work together to promote a balance between analgesia and side effects.

Faced with a trivial query of the pharmacy assistant, I should be cautious about having any irrational and judgmental plans of action. I should first recall intensively the uses of Aspirin 500mg (Cortal 500) and its toxicological effects if taken abusively than the prescribed dose. Then and there, I would know that the information I would be sharing to the patient will be of accuracy.

Bristol-Myers decided to promote its Datril by differentiating it from Tylenol in some tactful manner. It was also a challenging task for the company as Tylenol did not have any potential weakness that could be highlighted to promote Datril. Thus, the problem statement for Bristol-Myers is to position and price the new aspirin drug brand in the presence of a strong market leader.

This situation is an opportunity because Bristol-Myers needed to figure out how to successfully price and promote Datril as it launched in the analgesics market. Two main options are available (1) whether to promote Datril as a direct point of sale towards the consumer or (2) to adopt the traditional and more conservative route as that of Tylenol and promote Datril towards the trade only. Ultimately, to establish a price point that allows Datril to compete with Tylenol given like functionality.

In order to discuss this case, it is also important to know about McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and the producers of famous medicine "Tylenol". Tylenol was their best selling product; it was very much trusted by their consumers and they also earned huge profits from its sales in United States.