Samil Pharmaceutical Faces Fever Reducer Shortage Amid COVID-19 Surge... Increased Demand for Children's Ibuprofen Among Unvaccinated

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Samil Pharmaceutical announced on the 18th that the demand for the children's antipyretic analgesic ‘Burupeun Syrup’ has surged, with sales increasing more than threefold recently, following the health authorities' policy on home treatment.

In the recently announced Omicron response plan by health authorities, COVID-19 oral treatment prescription targets such as patients aged 60 and over, patients with underlying conditions aged 50 and over, and immunocompromised individuals are classified as intensive home treatment management groups.

They are monitored twice daily, while other targets including children, adolescents, and pregnant women are classified as general home treatment management groups. Home treatment is conducted with telephone consultations and prescriptions from medical institutions as needed. As the general management group, represented by asymptomatic and mild patients, shifts to self home treatment, there has been a surge in demand for products that can be stocked at home for self-treatment.

As the number of COVID-19 patients recently approached 100,000 daily, cold medicines and antipyretics have reportedly faced shortages. Samil Pharmaceutical’s ‘Burupeun Syrup’ has held the number one market share in the children's antipyretic market with the same ingredient for the past 34 years since its launch in 1987. Since 2012, it has been designated as a convenience store over-the-counter drug, allowing easy purchase 24 hours a day anywhere. The main ingredient, ibuprofen, has long been proven safe and effective. It also has the advantage of allowing appropriate dosage according to age with the provided measuring cup. Ibuprofen is an ingredient that effectively works on various symptoms encountered in daily life, such as pain relief, anti-inflammation, and fever reduction.

A Samil Pharmaceutical official said, “Currently, the demand for children’s Burupeun Syrup is surging,” and added, “We will do our best to minimize the inconvenience of the general public as well as children who are relatively vulnerable to infection due to unvaccinated status.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.