Drug names

What is a drug generic name?

Chemical International non-propriety name (INN)

i.e. ibuprofen vs nurofen

Why is INN name important?

What are two features of the name to ensure this?

For drug recognition and safety

Contains a STEM that identifies the pharmacological group and has distinct spelling and sounds that works across countries and languages.

On average how long does it take for a drug to get to market?

10 to 12 years

What are 3 rules the European Medicines agency (EMA) and  American FDA approved drugs must follow with brand names?

cannot sound or look like existing medication

Cannot use a generic stem as a suffix for a medication it does not match

cannot use promotional or exaggerated claims.

What is the structure of a generic drug name? (INN)

prefix- uniqueness and distinguishes between drugs in the same class (e.g.

infix- optional, gives additional info such as molecular target

stem- (suffix) at end of word but can sometimes appear at beginning and shows the drug class

i.e.ramipril and lisinopril

Why are there multiple prefixes for each drug class ?

Each drug may contain slightly different compositions, differ in how long they last in the body or side affects.