In 1917, the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy secretly produced bootleg aspirin after the war in Europe threatened the supply from German patent-holder Friedrich Bayer and Company. That same year, Bayer’s patent expired and the company lost the trademark rights to aspirin in various countries. The U.S. entry into the War spared College officials any legal repercussions from the bootleg aspirin project.

In 1945, buffered aspirin was developed at the University of Iowa. Kate Daum, head of the Department of Nutrition, complained of a headache to William D. “Shorty” Paul, but he declined aspirin because it upsets her stomach.

Dr. Paul, a professor of rehabilitation, added a buffer to the aspirin and the remedy relieved Daum’s headache without making her nauseous. Bristol-Myers later learns of Paul’s remedy and eventually marketed the product as Bufferin. An antacid verson of the producet, Rolaids, was introduced years later.