Antikamnia

Antikamnia (derived from the Greek and meaning "opposed to pain") was founded by Frank A. Ruf and Louis E. Frost who had worked together in the Mellier Drug Company.

While the product was proprietary and the formulation a secret, it had been investigated and it was established that the main ingredient was acetanilid, with sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, and caffeine as additives.

Acetanilid had been synthesized by German chemists in 1886 and had been tested as an analgesic (for pain relief) and antipyretic (for fever) on 24 patients.

The American Medical Association became increasingly critical of the products, and several articles calling it the "Antikamnia Fraud" appeared in journals.

Ball, stopped his subscription to the Journal of the American Medical Association for carrying Antikamnia advertisements.