Amber glass pharmaceutical bottle with original red paper label for Elixir of Pyramidon Brand of Aminopyrine, manufactured by Winthrop Chemical Company, Inc. The bottle contained 120 cc (4 fl. oz.) of prescription-only aminopyrine elixir. The formulation lists 20% alcohol, approximately 43% sugar, and 0.18 grams (about 2½ grains) of aminopyrine per teaspoonful.

Pyramidon, also known as aminopyrine (amidopyrine), was a widely used mid-20th century analgesic and antipyretic medication employed for relief of pain, fever, rheumatic complaints, headaches, and related conditions. It belonged to the pyrazolone family of drugs descended from antipyrine chemistry.

What makes this example especially interesting is the prominent warning language printed directly on the manufacturer’s label:

“Pyramidon may cause a serious and sometimes fatal blood disease.”

That warning reflects growing medical recognition of agranulocytosis and severe bone marrow toxicity associated with aminopyrine use. Although once popular therapeutically, the drug eventually fell out of favor or was removed from use in many countries because of these potentially catastrophic adverse effects.

This bottle represents an important transition period in pharmaceutical history — no longer an unrestricted patent remedy, but not yet the fully modern era of drug safety regulation and pharmacovigilance.