UK drug maker misled Aussie consumers with expensive "pain-specific" medication: court

An Australian court has found a United Kingdom (UK) drug company misled Australian consumers by marketing pain-killing pills that were said to be able to target certain areas of the body.

Reckitt Benckiser - the corporation who manufactures one of Australia's most used painkillers, Nurofen - was found guilty of misleading consumers by falsely advertising medication which claimed to target isolated sources of pain, such as back pain and period pain as well as tension headaches and migraines.

The Federal Court on Monday ruled the products contained the exact same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg, as the company's standard pain-relief medication.

But unlike the standard medication, the "pain-specific" varieties were sold at almost double the price.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the nation's consumer watchdog, launched the case against the global drug-maker earlier this year.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said on Monday that Reckitt Benckiser had misrepresented their product and hoped the court verdict would force all companies to be more transparent about their products.

"The Nurofen Specific Pain products were being sold at retail prices almost double that of Nurofen's standard ibuprofen products and the general pain relief products of its competitors," Sims said in a statement.

Reckitt Benckiser must now remove the products from Australian shelves within three months and amend all future packaging to reflect the court's ruling.

A spokesperson for Reckitt Benckiser, Montse Pena, rejected the court's ruling, but said the company would follow all imposed sanctions.

"Nurofen did not set out to mislead consumers," Pena said in a statement on Monday.

"Nurofen has co-operated with the ACCC in relation to these proceedings and will fully comply with the court order made today."

Reckitt Benckiser is likely to face a fine once a court date is set. Endit