Pharmaceuticals: Hard to Swallow

What comes in a green or blue box and has a big PM on it? If you guessed Excedrin PM, you’re right. If you said Tylenol PM, you’re also right. Bristol- Myers Squibb, which has been making Excedrin PM for 20 years, is not flattered by any similarity in the packaging of Johnson & Johnson’s year-old Tylenol PM. Last year Bristol-Myers sued J & J for copying its design and obtained a preliminary injunction two weeks ago barring the firm from advertising or selling the Tylenol version. With about $60 million in annual sales, Tylenol has quickly become a formidable rival of Excedrin. But last week a federal appeals court granted J & J a stay, so it can advertise and sell Tylenol pending further arguments. But the company had to post a $1 million bond.

At issue are not just the design, graphics and colors of the boxes but also the letters PM (for postmeridian, or afternoon). At stake is the fast-growing pain-killer-cum-sleep-aid segment of the $2.5 billion analgesic market. J & J maintains that its package prominently features the Tylenol name and that it had no intention of confusing consumers. The pills inside both bottles are sky blue and are available coated so that, unlike all the ongoing litigation, they’re easy to swallow.