Bayer Starts Selling Quick-Release Aspirin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}German drugmaker Bayer has released a souped-up version of Bayer aspirin that the company says relieves pain twice as fast as its namesake brand, the company said on Monday.
The new quick-release version, dubbed Bayer Advanced Aspirin, was released over the weekend in 500 Wal-Mart stores and is rolling out in retail chains nationwide.
The product uses a new technology that chops aspirin molecules into particles that are 10 times smaller than the original, allowing it to be absorbed more quickly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The technology "helps to speed up disintegration of the tablet, absorption into the bloodstream and, most importantly, time to pain relief," Dr. Wes Cetnarowski of Bayer HealthCare said in a statement.
The company says clinical studies on patients with dental pain show the drug starts working twice as quickly as the original Bayer aspirin, which was first released in 1899.
A spokeswoman said the company plans to publish the results of its clinical trials in a medical journal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No word yet on whether the new drug is easier on the stomach than original aspirin, which can cause bleeding ulcers, but the company plans to study that, too.