KEEPING AN OPEN MIND ON LONG-TERM USE OF PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS

Since the release of omeprazole, the first proton pump inhibitor (PPI), in 1988 in Europe and, two years later, in the Unit-ed States, six other PPIs have become available such as pantoprazole, esomepra-zole, lansoprazole, dexlansoprazole, and rabeprazole. The discovery of omeprazole is the story of a huge therapeutic success, the result of over 20 years of hard work and meticulous research made by an extraordi-nary team of more than 150 researchers, who discovered and tested over 800 com-pounds, surmounting unimaginable obsta-cles.