Encaprin

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Encaprin is a now-defunct brand of ibuprofen-based drug manufactured by Procter & Gamble in the mid-1980s.

[edit] Release in the market

Encaprin was released in the US market in March 1984. At the time, Tylenol was the product's main competitor, but later that year saw the introduction of two new brands - Advil, from Whitehall Laboratories, and Nuprin, from Bristol-Myers. These products, in turn, wished to capitalize on the new capsule concept set by Encaprin, and produced similar pain relievers caplets. Encaprin, being the first on the scene, ended up scoring far more sales in the beginning than Advil or Nuprin, but in comparison with other Procter & Gamble products, was yielding fair sales at best within the company spectrum. At the end of the first year, it was suggested that Procter & Gamble could increase Encaprin sales by putting more emphasis on how the brand differed from its new competition, which it hadn't been doing in advertisements until that point.

[edit] Cyanide hoax and discontinuation

In March 1986, an anonymous caller contacted Procter & Gamble claiming that he contaminated hundreds of Encaprin bottles by putting cyanide into every caplet. It was discovered that the person lived in the Chicago area, and he later led on that he had done the same activity in the Detroit area. The prominent supermarket and pharmacy chains in that region, Kroger and Walgreens, immediately pulled Encaprin off their shelves. By the following week, the story had made national headlines, which lead to a nationwide recall and suspended sales of Encaprin while a full investigation went on.

It was discovered that all Encaprin bottles stocked on the shelves of those local Kroger and Walgreens locations were untouched, and it was soon found that all Encaprin containers sent back to the company were in the clear. The case that nearly became the second coming of the infamous Tylenol Crisis of 1982 was a hoax, much to the relief of consumers. However, as the mysterious caller was tracked down and prosecuted, Procter & Gamble held out an extra two months before returning Encaprin to the stores. By July at the latest Encaprin returned, but sales severely plummeted. The public were scared off indefinitely from buying the product due to the ruse. Sales figures in the comeback months were so low that it nearly impacted Procter & Gamble's total market share for fiscal year 1986 and beyond. Seeing that Encaprin was doomed, the company announced in October that the drug would cease production immediately.