Loperamide 1980s, prior to the expiration of US patent on 30 January 1990, McNeil company started to develop Imodium Advanced containing loperamide and simethicone for treating both diarrhea and gas. In March 1997, the company patented such combination. The drug was approved in June 1997 by the FDA as Imodium Multi-Symptom Relief in the form of a chewable tablet. In November 1993, loperamide was launched as an orally disintegrating tablet based on Zydis technology. Imodium Instant Melts from Johnson & Johnson is currently the only loperamide available in the form of orally disintegrating tablets. In 2013, loperamide in the form of
Loperamide 1988, McNeil Pharmaceutical began selling loperamide as an over-the-counter drug under the brand name Imodium A-D. In the 1980s, loperamide also existed in the form of drops (Imodium Drops) and syrup. Initially, it was intended for children's usage, but Johnson & Johnson voluntarily withdrew it from the market in 1990 after 18 cases of paralytic ileus (resulting in six deaths) were registered in Pakistan and reported by World Health Organization. In the following years (1990-1991), products containing loperamide have been restricted for children's use in a number of countries (ranging from 2 to 5 years of age). In the late