proportional to the duration of the drug's effects to the person (i.e. gastric acid suppression). History Lansoprazole was originally synthesized at Takeda and was given the development name AG 1749. Takeda patented it in 1984 and the drug launched in 1991. In the United States, it was approved for medical use in 1995. Society and culture Patents The lansoprazole molecule is off-patent and so generic drugs are available under many brand names in many countries; there are patents covering some formulations in effect . Patent protection expired on 10 November 2009. Availability Since 2009, lansoprazole has been available over the counter (OTC) in the U.S. as Prevacid 24HR and as Lansoprazole 24HR. In Australia, it is marketed by Pfizer as Zoton. Research In vitro experiments have shown that lansoprazole binds to the pathogenic form of tau protein. laboratory studies were underway on analogs of lansoprazole to explore their use as potential PET imaging agents for diagnosing tauopathies including Alzheimer's disease. References External links Benzimidazoles GSK plc brands Novartis brands Organofluorides Phenol ethers Proton-pump inhibitors Pyridines Sanofi Sulfoxides AbbVie brands Takeda Pharmaceutical Company brands Trifluoromethyl compounds Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate