GALPHARM IBUPROFEN TABLETS` (Galpharm Ibuprofen Tablets)

Member Name: GentleGenius

Product:	Galpharm Ibuprofen Tablets
Date:	18/09/08 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, just as effective as any other brand, widely available

Disadvantages: None that I have experienced

Cost: 99p for a pack of 16 tablets at my local village grocer

INGREDIENTS:

200mg Ibuprofen (per tablet)
Colloidal anhydrous silica
Maize starch
Polyvinylpyrrolidone
Microcrystalline cellulose
Alginic acid
Magnesium stearate
Sodium lauryl sulphate
Sodium starch glycollate
Sodium carboxymethylcellulose
Talc
Sucrose
Titanium dioxide (E171)

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Galpharm is a company founded in 1982, who principally manufacture low cost over-the-counter medicines to a wide range of retail outlets. Their headquarters are in Dodworth, South Yorkshire, and their primary concern is the provision of safe products which conform to the very strict rules of the UK Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

(Note: Galpharm has recently been taken over by the American pharmaceutical company, Perrigo)

One of Galpharm's best-selling products is the painkiller, Ibuprofen, and it is sold nationwide in most supermarkets, pound shops, corner shops, chemists etc.

Galpharm Ibuprofen tablets come in packs of 16, 24 and 48. The active ingredient is Ibuprofen and is available in doses of 200mg per tablet, or in a stronger form, where each tablet contains 400mg.

The Galpharm Ibuprofen Tablets box is red, and on the front is a circle of grey with a fade-out effect, and on the bottom of the circle is a picture of a white pill. The word "Galpharm" is in white letters inside of a red oval, and the word "Ibuprofen" is in red block capitals underneath - the red letters are shadowed in white. The other words....200mg, TABLETS, effective pain relief, and 16 Tablets are all in white. On the back of the box in small white letters are instructions on how to use the tablets, dosage advice, a warning to keep medicines away from children and a warning not to exceed the stated dose. There is also information on what to do if the symptoms you take the tablets for persist, and advice on who should not be using this medication. At the bottom of the back of the box there is advice to consult a doctor before using the product if you are aged 75 or over, have asthma, liver, kidney or heart problems, have stomach or bowel disorders or are in the first six months of pregnancy.

Inside the box (a box of 16 tablets) is a single white press-style bubble pack containing all the pills. They are round, and though not small, aren't as big as some other brands of Ibuprofen - therefore, are slightly easier to swallow. There is also a white single page folded paper sheet which gives more extensive information on the use of the product, such as what the medicine is and what it's to be used for, more detailed information on who should and shouldn't take the tablets, how to take them, how to store the product, and a description of possible side-effects or allergic reactions, and what to do if you experience any of them.

I find Galpharm Ibuprofen to be a perfectly efficient and effective painkilling product, and no different to any other brand of Ibuprofen. It is also much cheaper, and doesn't compromise on quality - therefore, I don't see the point of paying, say £3 per packet for something that when it's produced by Galpharm, costs a third of the price, and is just as effective because it contains exactly the same ingredients.

Galpharm can be widely purchased in most shops and supermarkets, though the price may vary from place to place. I haven't seen it costing more than £1 anywhere though, and in pound shops, I've seen it sold for as cheaply as 45p per pack (that's a pack containing 16 tablets).

I hope that the recent takeover of Galpharm by Perrigo doesn't compromise the cheapness and quality of this - and other - Galpharm products.

Thumbs up Galpharm.....if you can produce Ibuprofen this cheaply, why can't the other pharmaceutical companies?

Summary: Why pay more for the same product in a different box bearing a different name?