RECKITT Benckiser has been banned from making claims that ibuprofen (Nurofen) provides faster and more effective relief from pain caused by common headaches than does paracetamol (Panadol), with a Federal Court judge yesterday saying RB had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The case, brought by Panadol maker GlaxoSmithKline, was in relation to 2015 advertisements based on a single clinical trial in 1996, with two other studies failing to replicate the findings.
Federal Court judge Lindsay Foster granted a permanent injunction and ordered RB to pay GSK's costs.
The court heard evidence that consumers bought OTC pain medications every two months, and that 33% of patients buy both paracetamol and ibuprofen based on different needs, new medical conditions or in-store displays.
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