AstraZeneca, Targacept and Epix in Race for OTC "Memory Pill"

(MoneyWatch)  AstraZeneca and Targacept are developing a memory enhancing pill that they hope could be available OTC for students who want to study harder and professionals who don't want to forget what's on the next page of their PowerPoint show. They are in a race for a similar approval with Epix, according to the Times and the Telegraph in the UK.

The drug was originally developed to slow the effects of Alzheimer's disease, which robs patients of their memories. But now the companies may try to put a weaker, "lifestyle" version of the drug on the market for anyone who wants to become a brainiac. There's a precedent for this -- Cephalon's Provigil, which is used by college students to help them study through all-nighters. And the Times notes:

People are also using Adderall XR and Ritalin, treatments for attention deficit disorder, to promote concentration, and Inderal, a medicine for high blood pressure that can also calm people down.

The deal between AZ and Targacept was struck last year. (Side note: Read the Times and Telegraph stories; one of these newspapers seems to have plagiarized the other.)