Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen was ranked 79th of 1,796 medicines by items in May 2026, with 319,724 items, down 3.7% on a year earlier.
Dispensed in May 2026
Rolling 12 months
Net ingredient cost · May 2026
Figure 1. Ibuprofen: national items dispensed by month
Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026
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At a glance
- Therapeutic class Drugs for soft-tissue disorders and topical pain relief
- Presentations 15 shown
- Average cost / item £4.33
- Year on year Down 3.7% on a year earlier
Top presentations, May 2026
The individual products dispensed under Ibuprofen this month.
| Presentation | BNF code | Items | Net ingredient cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibuprofen 10% gel | 1003020P0AAAIAI | 165,257 | £1,059,789 |
| Ibuprofen 5% gel | 1003020P0AAACAC | 93,049 | £186,322 |
| Fenbid 5% gel | 1003020P0BGAAAC | 54,648 | £88,099 |
| Ibugel Forte 10% gel | 1003020P0BDABAI | 1,424 | £9,907 |
| Ibuspray 5% spray | 1003020P0BFAAAD | 1,245 | £10,104 |
| Deep Relief gel | 1003020P0BEAAAH | 1,134 | £9,438 |
| Fenbid Forte 10% gel | 1003020P0BGABAI | 1,101 | £6,841 |
| Phorpain Maximum Strength 10% gel | 1003020P0BMAAAI | 795 | £6,088 |
| Ibugel 5% gel | 1003020P0BDAAAC | 377 | £2,206 |
| Ibuleve Maximum Strength 10% gel | 1003020P0BCAFAI | 263 | £2,468 |
| Ibuleve Pain Relief 5% Spray | 1003020P0BCAJAD | 113 | £617 |
| Phorpain 5% gel | 1003020P0BSAAAC | 107 | £282 |
| Ibuleve 5% gel | 1003020P0BCAAAC | 105 | £753 |
| Nurofen Joint & Muscular Pain Relief 200mg plasters | 1003020P0BLAEAK | 63 | £2,084 |
| Mentholatum Ibuprofen 5% gel | 1003020P0BNAAAC | 24 | £130 |
Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis · to May 2026 OGL v3.0
Where Ibuprofen is dispensed
The regions and dispensing practices with the highest Ibuprofen volumes.
Top regions
Top dispensing practices
- Holderness Health 9,335
- Modality Partnership (awc) 6,095
- The Ridings Medical Group 4,689
- Lancaster Medical Practice 4,283
- Vida Healthcare 4,028
- The Park Surgery 3,632
Regional volumes from NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis; practice volumes from NHS dispensing data.
Compare Ibuprofen with
Other medicines in the same BNF section, by prescribing volume.
Download this data
The monthly series for Ibuprofen is in this page's CSV. For the ranked national series across every medicine, with the method and caveats documented, see the most-prescribed medicines dataset in our open data catalogue.