Zantac hits counters

Glaxo’s ulcer treatment Zantac is to be sold over the counter in Britain, the first country to allow non-prescription sales of the drug. The prescription version had sales of ú2.4bn last year.

A spokesman for Warner Wellcome, which is marketing the product, says packaging for an over-the-counter version was designed in advance by Desgrippes Cato Gob a year ago.

The pack design was produced by the consultancy’s London and New York offices and will now be launched in Britain some time in the first quarter of this year, he adds.