FDA panel advises against omeprazole as over the counter drug

A panel of expert advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that omeprazole, the world's best selling treatment for chronic heartburn (sold under the brand name Losec in the United Kingdom and Prilosec in the United States), should not be allowed to be sold over the counter. Sales of omeprazole in 1999 reached about $5.9bn (£4.2bn).

In its 9 to 3 vote, the advisory committee said that it was unsure whether patients would take the …