Nitrofurantoin

Nitrofurantoin is an antibacterial medication used primarily to treat urinary tract and bladder infections. It has been sold under more than two dozen trade names, including Macrobid; but it is now almost always supplied as a generic.

The first US patent on the synthesis of nitrofurantoin was awarded in 1952 to Kenyon J. Hayes at the long-defunct Eaton Laboratories¹ (Norwich, NY). The drug was introduced in 1953. In his 2015 book Basic Principles of Drug Discovery and Development, Benjamin E. Blass called nitrofurantoin “a surprisingly successful drug” because of its market longevity.

In 2018, a controversy erupted over the cost of the liquid formulation of nitrofurantoin. The only two US companies that produce the formulation, Nostrum Laboratories (Kansas City, MO) and Casper Pharma (East Brunswick, NJ), dramatically increased their prices: Nostrum, from the already expensive US$475 per bottle, to $2,393 and Casper to $2,800. Needless to say, an uproar ensued, heightening demands for pharma industry price reforms, an issue of much concern in the US Congress and elsewhere.

1. You can purchase vintage postcards of the Eaton buildings on Amazon and other online sellers.