What was used before ibuprofen

His goal was to develop something that was as effective as steroids but had none of the side effects. Adams began his research by studying how aspirin worked, which no one else was doing at the time. Adams recruited Nicholson, a chemist, to help him test more than different compounds in hopes of finding one that could reduce inflammation and that most people could tolerate.

They narrowed down the field to five drugs. The first four went into clinical trials and all failed. The fifth, though, proved to be successful. They received a U. Three years later, it was approved as a prescription drug in England and soon became available around the world as an over-the-counter pain reliever. The professor emeritus at Sheffield Hallam University in England is considered a leading authority on ibuprofen. When it was published, someone approached the senior Adams and commented how the paper was authored by someone with the same last name.

The younger Adams says his father liked to joke he was the only person who lost money on the invention of ibuprofen. Even though the drug was patented by him and Nicholson, who died in , they received no royalties for its enormous success. In fact, Adams paid the 1 pound filing fee for the patent but never submitted the receipt for reimbursement by Boots.

He was recognized for his achievement with numerous honors, including in an OBE , or Officer of the Order of the British Empire, which is bestowed by Queen Elizabeth upon people who make a significant impact in their field of work. He was a really lovely man. His discovery was a phenomenal achievement.

We're incredibly proud of the fact that it was here in Nottingham that he invented Ibuprofen, which continues to bring pain relief to people across the world. Watch Live. Dr Stewart Adams: Chemist who invented ibuprofen after taking it to cure own hangover dies Dr Stewart Adams has been praised for his "amazing achievement with the invention of ibubrofen" and was "a genuinely nice guy". Fill 2 Copy 11 Created with Sketch. Thursday 31 January , UK. Why you can trust Sky News. And it all began with a sore head.

Because it has a different chemical structure to steroids, it is not as toxic. It reduces pain by targeting compounds called prostaglandins which cause inflammation in the body.

Inflammation can bring on swelling, heat, redness, loss of function, fever and pain. The painkilling effect begins soon after a dose is taken, but it can take longer for the inflammation to reduce.

Ibuprofen's success has been in treating minor aches and pains. NHS Choices says it should be taken at the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time because it can cause side-effects such as nausea and vomiting. The Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr Stewart Adams has been honoured for his research which led to the discovery of ibuprofen in the s.

Search for a challenge. Dr Stewart Adams spent his whole career at Boots UK, researching and developing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Ten years of research. Image source, Science Photo Library. Ibuprofen is now made by a range of different companies under many different brand names. How does ibuprofen work? Related Topics. Medicine Pharmaceutical industry Drug use.

NHS Choices.