Kaopectate was one of The Upjohn Company’s
best-known products. It was for stopping diarrhea and it worked
well. It was a very popular seller. For most of its product
lifetime, the active ingredients were the clay kaolin and the
thickener pectin. Prior to Kaopectate, medications for diarrhea
had some risks. From 1902 to 1923, the “Improved” Upjohn
diarrhea medication contained opium and chalk powder!
Kaopectate was introduced in 1913 and was
still in the product catalog eighty years later at the end of The Upjohn
Company in 1995. In the 1990s, there was a dedicated Kaopectate
filling and packaging facility in the north-east corner of
Building 41 at the Portage site. Until 1984, it was only available as a
suspension. Then Kaopectate tablets were introduced. Later on, caplets and
chewable tablets were added. A Kaopectate concentrate,
children’s liquid Kaopectate and children’s chewable tablets
soon followed.
1990 Kaopectate TC Commercial on YouTube
The active ingredient in the 1990s changed from
kaolin to attapulgite, which has a higher water absorption
capacity.There was no evidence that pectin worked for diarrhea so that was removed. From 1962 to 1972 there was a
combination Kaopectate and neomycin product.
Here are some Upjohn Kaopectate products I
have in my bottle collection.
