If you develop it, they will use it

Research from the department of "why didn't we think of that?": in research sponsored by Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare International Ltd, the treatment of pain with a tablet containing both paracetamol and ibuprofen was investigated.¹ These pain killers (analgesics) work in different ways, and therefore can be used together safely without causing overdose. Paracetamol, in contrast to ibuprofen, can accumulate in the liver when overdose occurs, and cause massive damage.

Volunteers were given either a combination paracetamol-ibuprofen tablet, or the two analgesics seperately. The combination pill showed a more rapid absorption of paracetamol, compared to paracetamol taken on its own. The mean blood concentrations of both paracetamol and ibuprofen were higher, earlier, than when the drugs were taken individually.

When the combined paracetamol-ibuprofen tablet was taken after a meal, absorption of ibuprofen was delayed by 25 minutes, and that of paracetamol was delayed by 55 minutes. The maximal blood concentration of both was also decreased when the tablet was taken after a meal. The study also determined that the combination tablet causes therapeutic dose levels of ibuprofen and paracetamol for approximately 12 hours when given three times per day. Therefore a combination paracetamol-ibuprofen treatment could provide enhanced pain relief for more severe pain.

Or, of course, you could just buy the two seperately, and take them together.




¹Tanner T, Aspley S, Munn A, Thomas T. The pharmacokinetic profile of a novel fixed-dose combination tablet of ibuprofen and paracetamol. BMC Clinical Pharmacology 10:10 (2010).
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