Subsequent to the introduction onto the U.S. drug market, two other H2-receptor antagonists were approved, ranitidine (Zantac, Glaxo Labs) and famotidine (Pepcid, Yamanouchi, Ltd.) Cimetidine became the first drug ever to reach more than $1 billion a year in sales, thus making it the first blockbuster drug.
Leta 1979 je bil cimetidin (pod tržnim imenom Tagamet) na voljo že v več kot 100 državah ter postal najbolj prodajano zdravilo na recept v ZDA, Kanadi in na številnih drugih trgih.