Astra To Launch Losec MUPS In February

The Swedish Medical Products Agency has approved Astra's improvedformulation of its best-selling antiulcerant, Losec (omeprazole). The Losec MultiUnit Pellet System (MUPS) product will be launched onto the market in February, said the company.

Losec MUPS is intended to completely replace the current formulation of the drug, and Astra has said that it will market it at a 10%-15% discount. The tablet is small and easy to swallow, and can also be dissolved in water. The introduction of the MUPS form, as well as ongoing work on a single-isomer version of omeprazole (called perprazole), are part of the company's strategy to protect its important gastrointestinal franchise once omeprazole starts to lose patent protection after 2001.