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October 14, 2005

Strange But True!

Q. In the world of commercial drugs, what's in a name? More than you might think.

A. At least three names go with a consumer drug — its chemical compound, its generic label, and its trade or proprietary name, says Susan Ipaktchian in "The Name Game," in "Stanford Medicine" magazine. For a new drug, the U.S. company submits three possible generic names to the U.S. Adopted Names Council (USAN), which selects one and clears it with the World Health Organization to avoid global duplication. USAN has a list of approved "stems," such as statin for "cholesterol-lowering" in a name like atorvastatin. Other guides call for easy pronunciation, at most four syllables, and uniqueness to avoid name confusion.


 
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