Chapter 43 - Drug Nomenclature

Abstract

Pharmaceutical preparations are also marketed by industry under proprietary names or trademarks (TMs). Trade names are usually selected by the owner of the product and registered in national trademark or patent offices. Brand names are chosen for a finished pharmaceutical product, that is, for one or various active drug substances in a defined dosage form and formulation. Nonproprietary names, also called generic or common names, are intended to be used as public property without restraint, that is, nobody should own any rights on their usage. National or international nomenclature commissions usually designate these names. Both trade names and nonproprietary names are normally published first in the form of proposals. The rapid development of pharmaceutical chemistry has brought with it the need to identify large numbers of active drug substances by unique, universally available and accepted names. Biotechnology-derived medicine is one of the fastest growing sectors of the pharmaceutical market and has begun to play an increasingly important role in health care. With the scientific and technical developments currently taking place, many new biological products are being introduced for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of human disease. How to name these substances is therefore raising a novel challenge for the nomenclature committee. New schemes and concepts need to be developed on a worldwide basis. An example presented is the scheme for naming monoclonal antibodies.