nhboy
Ubi bene ibi patria
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"Asvasiran. Bremabecestat. Gedatolisib. Lulumab pegol. Nexbolizumab. Uprosertib. Orilotimod. Vepoloxamer.
What are they? Aliens? Goblins? Diseases? A spelling bee contestant's nightmare?
Nope. They're names for drugs.
Not brand names, though. They're the names for the active ingredients.
You may have noticed that every brand-name drug has a second name — for instance, Prozac® (fluoxetine). That second name, fluoxetine, is a name for the active ingredient, which is the same whatever the brand or generic form.
And believe it or not, these syllable-heavy second names are actually convenient nicknames. It's much easier to say fluoxetine than to say (RS)-N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]propan-1-amine.
When a drug company researches and patents a drug, it gets to suggest what the generic name should be. It makes an application to the United States Adopted Names Council (other countries have similar councils and they generally try to cooperate). And that is what those alien-looking words are that I started with: generic names that have been applied for and are under consideration.
So can these drugs be named just any old thing? Is there anything preventing a company from calling its active ingredient supercurol? Well, yes. The U.S. Adopted Names Council. It has some rules, including the following:
"Prefixes that imply 'better,' 'newer,' or 'more effective;' prefixes that evoke the name of the sponsor, dosage form, duration of action or rate of drug release should not be used."
"Prefixes that refer to an anatomical connotation or medical condition are not acceptable."
Certain letters or sets of letters also aren't allowed at the beginning of new generic names. These include me, str, x, and z."
"Asvasiran. Bremabecestat. Gedatolisib. Lulumab pegol. Nexbolizumab. Uprosertib. Orilotimod. Vepoloxamer.
What are they? Aliens? Goblins? Diseases? A spelling bee contestant's nightmare?
Nope. They're names for drugs.
Not brand names, though. They're the names for the active ingredients.
You may have noticed that every brand-name drug has a second name — for instance, Prozac® (fluoxetine). That second name, fluoxetine, is a name for the active ingredient, which is the same whatever the brand or generic form.
And believe it or not, these syllable-heavy second names are actually convenient nicknames. It's much easier to say fluoxetine than to say (RS)-N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]propan-1-amine.
When a drug company researches and patents a drug, it gets to suggest what the generic name should be. It makes an application to the United States Adopted Names Council (other countries have similar councils and they generally try to cooperate). And that is what those alien-looking words are that I started with: generic names that have been applied for and are under consideration.
So can these drugs be named just any old thing? Is there anything preventing a company from calling its active ingredient supercurol? Well, yes. The U.S. Adopted Names Council. It has some rules, including the following:
"Prefixes that imply 'better,' 'newer,' or 'more effective;' prefixes that evoke the name of the sponsor, dosage form, duration of action or rate of drug release should not be used."
"Prefixes that refer to an anatomical connotation or medical condition are not acceptable."
Certain letters or sets of letters also aren't allowed at the beginning of new generic names. These include me, str, x, and z."
