Reckitt Benckiser ordered to pull Nurofen range in Australia

Reckitt Benckiser has been ordered to pull part of its Nurofen pain relief range in Australia.

On Monday the country’s Federal Court ordered the Nurofen Specific Pain products off the shelves after a complaint from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The complaint said that Reckitt Benckiser claimed each of the products were formulated to treat a specific type of pain, when the products were in fact identical.

The products under scrutiny were Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache.

The court found the company made misleading representations on the packaging and on its website as the products were identical and all contained the same active ingredient - ibuprofen lysine 342mg.

The FTSE 100 company admitted the claims and consented to the orders made by the court.

It ordered that the company remove the products from retail shelves within three months, as well as publish website and newspaper corrective notices, implement a consumer protection compliance program, and pay the consumer watchdog’s costs.

Reckitt Benckiser said the case related only to Australia, BBC News reported, and that the ruling would not be applicable in other countries including the UK.

It said it would comply with the Australian court order and that it "did not set out to mislead consumers".

Despite the news, shares in the company were up 18p (0.29%) to 6,142.00 at 1032 GMT.