Product launches, demographics drive internal analgesics market.(Industry Overview)

NEW YORK - New products and old age have combined to make the internal analgesics market one of the healthiest and most competitive categories in the over-the-counter drug business.

With annual sales fast approaching the $3 billion mark, competitive pressures have spurred some of the largest marketing efforts yet in the category. At the same time, the trend toward self-medication and the aging of the population has had the effect of increasing the demand for effective pain relief products.

The most notable development in the category over the past two years has been the debut of Procter & Gamble & Co.'s (P&G's) Aleve. The product is an O-T-C version of naproxen sodium, an ingredient that was formerly available only by prescription.

Now, the industry is in the midst of launching an over-the-counter version of ketoprofen. In November Whitehall-Robins introduced Orudis KT after marketing prescription-strength ketoprofen under the name Orudis for almost 10 years. In early 1996 Bayer Corp. is expected to follow suit with a version of ketoprofen called Actron.

"Whether it's Advil, Aleve or Orudis KT, these product introductions draw …