A Brief History of Antipyretics: How Were Those Famous Drugs Born?

As early as 5000 or 4000 BCE, ancient Sumerians discovered that consuming willow bark relieved pain. Over 2800 years ago, the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus documented the use of dried willow leaves for pain relief. China’s earliest pharmacopoeia, the *Shennong Ben Cao Jing* (*Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica*), recorded that the roots, bark, branches, and leaves of the willow tree were all medicinal—capable of expelling phlegm, improving vision, clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis, and dispelling wind; externally applied, they could even treat toothache. In 1758, Englishman Edward Stone demonstrated that powdered willow bark, when ingested, reduced fever and effectively alleviated muscle pain and headaches. During the 19th century, the active ingredients of medicinal substances were progressively identified. In 1828, German chemist Johann Buchner first extracted a yellow crystalline active compound—salicin—from willow bark. In 1838, French pharmacist Henri Leroux and Italian chemist Raffaele Piria isolated and purified salicin; due to its acidic taste, they named it salicylic acid. In 1852, French chemist Charles Gerhardt determined the molecular structure of salicylic acid and synthesized it chemically for the first time. In 1876, Scottish physician Thomas J. MacLagan published findings in *The Lancet*, confirming salicin’s efficacy against rheumatic fever and joint inflammation. German chemist Hermann Kolbe achieved the artificial synthesis of salicylic acid—but found its taste unbearable and its gastric irritation severe. In 1897, Felix Hoffmann of Bayer AG, under the guidance of Arthur Eichengrün, modified salicylic acid to synthesize highly pure acetylsalicylic acid. Later confirmed clinically effective against pain, inflammation, and fever, this compound was registered by Bayer in March 1899 as “Aspirin”—making Aspirin the world’s first nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). A Touching Analgesic: Ibuprofen Image source: Bing Image Creator Although effective, Aspirin required high dosages and frequently caused side effects such as allergies, bleeding, and indigestion. With the emergence of newer analgesics—like ibuprofen—Aspirin’s dominance gradually waned. In 1952, Stuart Adams, ibuprofen’s inventor, joined Boots Company in the UK, focusing on developing drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. After a bout of heavy drinking left him with an intense headache, he recalled a recently synthesized compound—4-isobutylphenylpropionic acid (ibuprofen)—and tried it. The pain relief was astonishingly effective. Upon sobering up, Adams immediately resumed research. In 1962, Boots patented ibuprofen. In 1969, the UK approved it as a prescription drug; by 1983, it became an over-the-counter antipyretic and analgesic. Thanks to its low cost and rapid pain-relieving action, ibuprofen swept the globe—proving especially effective for menstrual cramps, toothaches, lower back pain, and joint pain—and became one of the world’s best-selling medications.

How Did Watsons Turn Consumers into Lifelong Loyalists?

"Only when the sales proportion of proprietary brands meets the target can third-party brands remain on Watsons’ shelves—and correspondingly, brand-appointed beauty consultants retain their jobs." For sales staff whose salaries and commissions come from third-party brands, actively promoting Watsons’ proprietary brands yields no financial benefit. Exerting great effort—shouting, persuading, exhausting themselves—only results in a thankless, unprofitable endeavor. Who would willingly accept that? Moreover, few Watsons customers enter stores specifically seeking proprietary brands. Whether due to uninspired packaging design or merely average user experience, these products rarely convert casual shoppers into devoted fans. Compounding this is the lingering fallout from the earlier incident—"Watsons’ facial masks allegedly caused deaths"—so even customers willing to patiently listen to product introductions deserve to be called heroes. To boost sales of proprietary-brand products, beyond perpetual discount promotions, the sole remaining lever is the salesperson’s mouth. Why does Watsons pursue this seemingly ruthless proprietary-brand strategy without restraint? Simply to maximize profits. According to revelations from a former senior executive: "Proprietary brands—accounting for only 25% of sales—contribute over 60% of Watsons’ gross profit." Their profit margins dwarf those of imported goods; their production costs undercut domestic brands. Such astonishing profitability means that, for paying customers, purchasing a Watsons-branded product is practically synonymous—with rounding up—buying disappointment and deception. This self-serving, zero-sum approach—prioritizing its own sales while disregarding partner brands’ survival—has also chilled the enthusiasm of many入驻 brands. After all, Watsons’ entry fee is steep. Beyond that, brands must pay Watsons various backend operational fees—including promotional fees and barcode fees: "No brand can turn a profit at Watsons." Will Watsons’ Desperate Courtship of Young Consumers Succeed? In 1989, Watsons opened its first mainland China store in Beijing. Originating as a British pharmacy and expanding globally from Hong Kong, this one-stop retail chain grew within just three decades into a brick-and-mortar retail legend—covering 480 Chinese cities, operating over 3,900 stores, and boasting more than 65 million members. From basic skincare to color cosmetics, daily hygiene to snacks and beverages, Watsons’ comprehensive product range once emptied the meager pocket money of young women in first- and second-tier cities. For many Gen X and millennial consumers, their youthful dreams of beauty set sail here—on tubes of Mentholatum lip balm and Li Mei facial cleansers. Yet within just a few years, Watsons—once hailed as the trendsetter, its iconic green shopping bags exuding fashion—has devolved, in the eyes of a new generation more experienced with consumption upgrades, into a synonym for outdated and tacky. Its failure to evolve—stale store aesthetics and unchanged open-shelf merchandise—proved even more off-putting than aggressive hard-selling. To appeal to younger consumers, Watsons—long haughty and resistant to change—had no choice but to bow its "noble" head: leveraging AI to create its virtual brand ambassador, Qu Chenxi; collaborating with the wildly popular LINE FRIENDS to launch tear-jerking mask-themed shopping bags; and partnering with hit mobile games like *Onmyoji* and *Love and Producer* to roll out cross-dimensional themed stores appealing equally to male and female fans… Beyond such collaborations to break into the anime/manga fandom, Watsons—which had long been criticized for poor experiential engagement and subpar service—launched multiple experiential services on its official app in 2019: AR makeup try-ons, skin analysis, complimentary member makeup appointments, one-on-one personalized beauty consultations, and spa experiences.

Boots Owner Closing In on Sale to Canada’s Weston Family for $9bn

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Boots Owner Closing In on Sale to Canada’s Weston Family for $9bn

Boots Owner Closing In on Sale to Canada’s Weston Family for $9bn

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