TOYAMA, Japan - Japanese anti-itch medicine Muhi cream has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the longest-selling drug of its kind, having marked 100 years since its launch.
An official adjudicator of the Guinness records on Saturday handed a certificate marking the record as the longest-selling over-the-counter bite and sting anti-itch product brand to the president of the medicine's maker Ikeda Mohando Co. at an event held in Toyama Prefecture, central Japan.
According to the pharmaceutical firm based in the prefecture, the first version of Muhi went on sale in 1926 as a petroleum jelly ointment in a tin, with the name Muhi coming from a Japanese word meaning "incomparable."
Katsuhiro Ikeda, president of the company, said during the event held in the city of Toyama to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the drug that he wants to continue producing products worthy of the name.
The original Muhi petroleum jelly was developed for workers in a then thriving sericulture industry who suffered from insect bites but who avoided using insecticides to protect the silkworms, according to the firm. The brand adopted its current red-and-white design in 1970.
