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Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Other osmotic laxative preparations

Gastro-Intestinal System Laxatives BNF 010604000
Data updated May 2026 Download CSV

Other osmotic laxative preparations was ranked 957th of 1,796 medicines by items in May 2026, with 601 items, up 5.1% on a year earlier.

601items +5.1%

Dispensed in May 2026

5,979items

Rolling 12 months

£8,738

Net ingredient cost · May 2026

Figure 1. Other osmotic laxative preparations: national items dispensed by month

0 731 1k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Sep 2022 Jul 2023 May 2024 Mar 2025 Jul 2026 1,462 Jan 2021: 289 Feb 2021: 270 Mar 2021: 233 Apr 2021: 254 May 2021: 229 Jun 2021: 227 Jul 2021: 251 Aug 2021: 183 Sep 2021: 229 Oct 2021: 278 Nov 2021: 331 Dec 2021: 220 Jan 2022: 287 Feb 2022: 272 Mar 2022: 252 Apr 2022: 305 May 2022: 402 Jun 2022: 307 Jul 2022: 282 Aug 2022: 187 Sep 2022: 59 Oct 2022: 34 Nov 2022: 200 Dec 2022: 261 Jan 2023: 285 Feb 2023: 280 Mar 2023: 285 Apr 2023: 216 May 2023: 300 Jun 2023: 563 Jul 2023: 575 Aug 2023: 492 Sep 2023: 495 Oct 2023: 493 Nov 2023: 637 Dec 2023: 490 Jan 2024: 608 Feb 2024: 613 Mar 2024: 574 Apr 2024: 618 May 2024: 617 Jun 2024: 599 Jul 2024: 572 Aug 2024: 470 Sep 2024: 508 Oct 2024: 634 Nov 2024: 563 Dec 2024: 451 Jan 2025: 569 Feb 2025: 595 Mar 2025: 550 Apr 2025: 522 May 2025: 572 Jun 2025: 710 Jul 2025: 694 Aug 2025: 503 Sep 2025: 683 Oct 2025: 650 Nov 2025: 571 Dec 2025: 517 Jan 2026: 617 Feb 2026: 559 Mar 2026: 636 Apr 2026: 642 May 2026: 601 Jun 2026: 608 Jul 2026: 1k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

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At a glance

  • Therapeutic class Laxatives
  • Presentations 1 shown
  • Average cost / item £14.54
  • Year on year Up 5.1% on a year earlier
What this is
Net ingredient cost is the list price before discounts and dispensing fees, not what the NHS finally pays.

Top presentations, May 2026

The individual products dispensed under Other osmotic laxative preparations this month.

Presentations of Other osmotic laxative preparations, May 2026
Presentation BNF code Items Net ingredient cost
Plenvu oral powder sachets 010604000BBAAA0 601 £8,738

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis · to May 2026 OGL v3.0

Where Other osmotic laxative preparations is dispensed

The regions and dispensing practices with the highest Other osmotic laxative preparations volumes.

Regional volumes from NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis; practice volumes from NHS dispensing data.

Compare Other osmotic laxative preparations with

Other medicines in the same BNF section, by prescribing volume.

Download this data

The monthly series for Other osmotic laxative preparations 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.