Bayer unveils a faster-acting aspirin

Bayer AG is looking for a speedy remedy for stagnant aspirin sales. The company is introducing a reformulated aspirin today that works in half the time of its regular aspirin.

Bayer says it needed to revitalize the brand and target younger customers to improve its 14.6 percent market share.

Scientists at Bayer Consumer Care’s Morristown, N.J., headquarters worked for five years to address consumers’ top complaint: The aspirin doesn’t work fast enough.

Bayer Advanced Aspirin was tested in multiple sites on dental patients who had just had wisdom teeth extracted. The company said 500 milligrams of the new aspirin started working in 16 minutes and brought “meaningful pain relief’’ in 49, on average, compared with 100 minutes for the same dose of regular aspirin. Bayer is arranging to publish its research. It has not tested the aspirin against other pain relievers.

In 1988, aspirin was approved in low doses to prevent heart attacks and strokes. As a result, “people have kind of forgotten about the fact that pain is our heritage,’’ said Barton Warner, a Bayer executive.

Analyst Linda Bannister expects Bayer Advance to be a tough sell: Sales of store brand aspirins are growing steadily.

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