Famotidine

Famotidine, sold under the trade name Pepcid among others, is a medication that decreases stomach acid production. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a vein. It begins working within an hour. Famotidine, sold under the trade name Pepcid among others, is a medication that decreases stomach acid production. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a vein. It begins working within an hour. Common side effects include headache, intestinal upset, and dizziness. Serious side effects may include pneumonia and seizures. Use in pregnancy appears safe but has not been well studied while use during breastfeeding is not recommended. It is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist. Famotidine was patented in 1979 and came into medical use in 1985. It is available as a generic medication. A month supply in the United Kingdom costs the NHS about 30 ₤ as of 2019. In the United States the wholesale cost of this amount is about 2 USD. In 2016 it was the 125th most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 5 million prescriptions. Famotidine is also given to dogs and cats with acid reflux. Famotidine has been used in combination with an H1 antagonist to treat and prevent urticaria caused by an acute allergic reaction. The most common side effects associated with famotidine use include headache, dizziness, and constipation or diarrhea. Famotidine blocks the action of histamine in the stomach cell and ultimately block acid secretion in the stomach, as a result, less amount of acid production. Unlike cimetidine, the first H2 antagonist, famotidine has no effect on the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, and does not appear to interact with other drugs. Famotidine was developed by Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. It was licensed in the mid-1980s by Merck & Co. and is marketed by a joint venture between Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The imidazole ring of cimetidine was replaced with a 2-guanidinothiazole ring. Famotidine proved to be nine times more potent than ranitidine, and thirty-two times more potent than cimetidine. It was first marketed in 1981. Pepcid RPD orally disintegrating tablets were released in 1999. Generic preparations became available in 2001, e.g. Fluxid (Schwarz) or Quamatel (Gedeon Richter Ltd.).