US H2 Blocker Boom Forecast To Slow Down

27 January 1997

With a US advertising/marketing budget of $350 million, the H2 blockershave expanded the stomach remedy category 30% to $1.45 billion in the year to date, says Information Resources. Such growth will clearly slow down, comments Advertising Age, noting that consultants estimate a topping-out of the category near $2 billion by 1998. NCI's Tom Cherrick says: "these numbers will be hard to sustain, but there is still room for substantial growth, since a lot of these brands are still early entries."

Market shares are in such flux, says Advertising Age, that the brand hierarchy at year-end had all but tumbled. By mid-1996, J&J/Merck's antacid Mylanta fell from a leading 12.9% share to 12.5% and third place. J&J/Merck's Pepcid AC (famotidine) rose from a 10.2% share to lead with 16.9%, and SmithKline Beecham's Tagamet HB (cimetidine) climbed from 5.3% to 8.5% and fifth place. SB's Tums held second place but dropped 1.4 points to 11%, and private-label products fell 1.2 points to 9.5% and fourth place.

Of the older antacids, only Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis) fought to retain market share by stressing the speed of action that H2 blockers lack and rolling out a $25 million campaign on top of the $8 million it spent earlier in 1996. Advertising Age says J&J/Merck seems to feel there is room in the medicine cabinet for both Mylanta and Pepcid AC; it spent almost $10 million on its first-quarter "My doctor said Mylanta" campaign, and backed June's launch of children's Mylanta with up to $7 million. While some question the need for a children's antacid, others feel a $40 million market awaits.

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