This box of 1 ounce Aspirin dates to after 1913 when Bayer established its New York office at 117 Hudson Street. The box bears the “Bayer Cross” logo with the text “Registered Trademark/1 Ounce/Aspirin/(Monoaceticacidester of Salicylic Acid).” Bayer originally marketed its trademarked Aspirin in powder form only to the medical profession and drug firms, to distinguish the product from patent medicines sold directly to the public. On this package the name "Aspirin" is followed by "Monoaceticacidester of Salicylic Acid," the generic name Bayer provided for the product. Aspirin already had a fairly simple chemical name, acetyl salicylic acid or ASA, but the more complicated generic name helped Bayer maintain its monopoly on this lucrative new drug. The brand name “Aspirin” proved much easier to remember, and it was soon in popular use for all ASA products. Image source: The Smithsonian
On this day in 1899, Bayer Corporation put a trademark on acetylsalicylic acid. Since that day, the company has sold the NSAID or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug as “Aspirin.”
#Health #Medication #Aspirin #PainReliever #Pill #History #OTD
