Paracetamol oral liquid: Lower strength (120 mg per 5 ml) changing brand

Last Updated: 20 May 2026

Brand change Active

The brand of lower strength oral liquid paracetamol is changing from Ethics to Noumed.

What's changing?

The funded brand of 120 mg per 5 ml strength oral liquid paracetamol is changing from Ethics to Noumed.

Unlike the Ethics brand, each 200 ml pack will include a 10 ml oral syringe to help with more accurate dosing.

Same flavour, same active ingredient

The formulation for Noumed is sugar free, colourless, and strawberry-vanilla flavoured, much like the Ethics brand.

Noumed contains the same amount of the active ingredient, paracetamol.

Why is this happening?

This is a tender brand change. Every year, Pharmac runs a tender process to create competition among suppliers to supply many medicines used by New Zealanders.

The tender helps Pharmac manage the costs of medicines. Any savings we make are returned to the medicines budget to help pay for new medicines.

Your brand change is helping fund more medicines for more New Zealanders.

Information for pharmacists

The funded brand of paracetamol oral liquid 120 mg per 5 ml is changing, from Ethics to Noumed. The flavour remains the same as the previous brand, Strawberry-Vanilla.

This product comes with a syringe to support safe, accurate dosing. When dispensing in original packs, please ensure the syringe is provided.

Key dates

To support stock management, please note the following dates:

1 June 2026 | The Noumed brand is listed

1 November 2026 | The Ethics brand is no longer funded.

Comparison table

Detail	New Brand	Old Brand
Supplier	Noumed	Multichem (Ethics brand)
Flavour	Strawberry-Vanilla	Strawberry Vanilla
Pharmacode	2721376	2650665
Subsidy	$3.18	$3.98
Size of Container	200 ml	200 ml
Pack type	Bottle	Bottle
Colour	Colourless	Colourless
Solution or suspension	Suspension	Suspension
Stability	24 months from date of manufacture stored at or below 25°C protect from light	36 months from date of manufacture stored at or below 25°C. Store in the original package
Excipients (Inactive ingredients)	Citric acid Dispersible cellulose Ethyl maltol Maltitol Methyl hydroxybenzoate Propyl hydroxybenzoate Purified water Saccharin sodium Simethicone emulsion USP Sodium citrate Sorbitol Strawberry flavour 096069 Vanilla flavour 104463 Xanthan gum	Citric acid Ethyl maltol Sodium citrate, anhydrous to pH Citric acid, anhydrous to pH Maltitol Methyl hydroxybenzoate Microcrystalline cellulose Propyl hydroxybenzoate Purified water Saccharin sodium Simeticone Sodium citrate Sorbitol Strawberry flavour 096069 Vanilla flavour 104463 Xanthan gum

Price decrease for Pamol (250 mg per 5 ml)

The other strength of oral liquid paracetamol is not changing brand. However, the subsidy will decrease on 1 July 2026 from $3.35 to $3.18

Who to contact

If you have questions about this issue, email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz

Please include as much information as you can about the product (presentation, brand, pharmacode) and who your wholesaler is.