Ibuprofen's GSL Status In UK

The recent temporary switch of ibuprofen from Pharmacy-only to General Sales List status in the UK has prompted Crookes Healthcare to confirm its plans for a GSL launch of its market-leading Nurofen brand. As a consequence, the Medicines Control Agency is proposing a permanent P-to-GSL switch in the license for ibuprofen products.

The switch came about not as a result of the usual consultative process, but because the MCA granted a temporary GSL classification for an ibuprofen product marketed by Galpharm International, a move which it was able to make under the Medicines (Pharmacy and General Sale - Exemption) Order 1980 by means of a provision in the product license.

The move has been criticised in some quarters. For example, the granting of the license has prompted the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to issue a press release stressing the importance of the pharmacist in the provision of non-prescription drugs. This need, it said, is perfectly illustrated by ibuprofen, which for most people is safe and well-tolerated but can be dangerous for asthmatics. The proposal would allow the GSL supply of ibuprofen for rheumatic and muscular pain, backache, neuralgia, migraine, headache, dental pain, dysmenorrhea, feverishness, and cold and flu symptoms.