O-T-Cs are vital part of strategy at Pfizer. (Pfizer Inc.)(over the counter drugs) (The 1993 NACDS Marketplace Conference: Building Alliances)

NEW YORK--Although over-the-counter drugs represent only about 5% of its total business, Pfizer Inc. says that they are a vital part of its consumer health care division's strategy. "The health needs of an aging population combined with a growing tendency toward self-medication will bring about an ever greater need for effective O-T-Cs," says a spokesman.

Pfizer's O-T-C offerings include such things as Unisom sleeping aids, Plax prebrushing rinse, Visine eyedrops and Ben-Gay ointment. And the company's poised to provide more O-T-C products in the future because of its strength in research and development in prescription drugs.

According to Pfizer, over 200 of …