when was ibuprofen invented

Ibuprofen was invented in the early 1960s, with the key discovery and patent filing occurring in 1961, and it first reached patients as a prescription medicine in 1969.

Quick Scoop

The invention timeline

• Research into a safer alternative to aspirin started at Boots in the 1950s under Stewart Adams and colleagues.

• The compound that became ibuprofen (2‑(4‑isobutylphenyl)propionic acid) was discovered and synthesized around 1961 in Nottingham, UK.

• A patent for ibuprofen was filed in 1961 and granted in the early 1960s (often cited as 1962–1964, depending on jurisdiction).

• Ibuprofen was launched on prescription in the UK in 1969 under the brand name Brufen, initially for rheumatoid arthritis.

So if you’re answering “when was ibuprofen invented,” the most accurate concise answer is: it was invented in 1961 and introduced to patients in 1969.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.