The company that markets Nurofen faces legal action over claims it has misled consumers about the popular painkiller.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges that Reckitt Benckiser’s Nurofen Specific Pain Products are identical despite claiming on their packaging to treat different kinds of pain, such as migraines and tension headaches.

“The ACCC alleges that these representations were false or misleading because the caplets in all four Nurofen Specific Pain Products are identical and each contain the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg,” the ACCC said in a statement on Thursday.

“All four products are also approved on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods as being suitable for treating a wide variety of pain types.”

The ACCC says the company made the claims on product packets and its website.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the products in question were being sold at a higher price than the company’s standard ibuprofen pain killer.

The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, an order for the publication of corrective notices, penalties and costs.

The matter is listed for March 31 in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Reckitt Benckiser has been sought for comment.