What's the deal with drug names?

[Emilio Lizardo]

Perscription drugs seem to have two names: what I would call a "trade name" (eg Prilosec or Vioxx) and a "proper name" (eg omeprazole or rofecoxib.) I assume the trade name is chosen for marketing reasons, but what about the proper name. Does the word Omeprazole have some chemical meaning in the same way that, say, "sodium triphosphate" has, or is it just a made-up word? Is the two name thing just another marketing gimmick?

[flowers]

Dear Emilio,
The following is taken from Understanding Pharmacology for Health Professionals by Susan M. Turley.
"From the moment of its discovery or design, every drug has a chemical name that describes its molecular structure and distinguishes it from all other drugs. The pharmaceutical company, together with a special organization known as the United States Adopted Names Council, then determines a second name for the drug, its generic name. When the FDA gives final approval for marketing, then the manufacturer alone selects a third name known as the trade name or brand name, which is a registered trademark.
Example: Chemical name: alpha-[4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenyl]-4-hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinebutanol
Generic name: Terfenadine
Trade name: Seldane
In general, the particular spelling of a brand name drug is proposed by the manufacturer for one of several reasons: To indicate the disease process being treated (Azmacort, for asthma), to simplify the generic name while retaining its phonetic sound (pseudoephedrine is Sudafed), to indicate the source of a drug (Premarin, from pregnant mare's urine), to indicate the action of the drug (Elavil, to elevate depressed mood)", & a host of other reasons, but you get the idea.
Hope this answers your question.

[jk1245]

Actually, omeprazole's real name is 5-methoxy-2-[[(4-methoxy-3,5-dimethyl-2-pyridinyl)methyl]sulfinyl]-1H-benzimidazole, but that's a bit of a mouthful. Not to mention, they would need a really tiny font to print that on a bottle.

The generic name is developed by the original producer along with the FDA. It not capitalized or trademarked. It may simply be the chemical name if the name is short enough, but is usually some variation of the parent compound, so it often gives at least some structural clue. In the case of omeprazole, the backbone is a benzimidazole, which is a benzene fused to an imidizole. I'm not sure where the "omep-" came from. It may simply be something that sounded good.

Even more confusing is that many drugs, or at least their parent or backbone compound, were known well before the IUPAC naming conventions were used. For example, benzene is really cyclohexatriene, but was so widely known as benzene, that the name never left.

For real fun however, look into protein chemistry. No rules on naming newly discovered proteins. Whoever finds it, names it. Hence mulitple names for the same protein, odd names that don't make sense, family members with different names. It's a blast

[kspharm]

And sometimes the trade name of the drug becomes so widely known that it becomes the "generic" name, a la Xerox. Acetyl-salicylic acid, which Bayer marketed as Aspirin, is now just known as aspirin.

[Nametag]

The brand name is assigned by the company (and is approved by the FDA). The generic name (or trade name) is assigned by the United States Adopted Name Council (USAN), in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international bodies. The FDA and the developing company have input, but not control.

USANs are usually assigned by shortening the chemical name; e.g., N-(Hydroxyphenyl)-acetamide becomes acetaminophen. For certain classes of drugs, the names must follow a format; e.g., monoclonal antibody drug names must end in '-mab." In all cases, the drug name must be clearly distinguishable from other drug names.

[Acsenray]

And sometimes the trade name of the drug becomes so widely known that it becomes the "generic" name, a la Xerox. Acetyl-salicylic acid, which Bayer marketed as Aspirin, is now just known as aspirin.

Xerox is still a trademarked term. No other copier manufacturer can market their copiers as "xerox" machines.

Aspirin is generic because Bayer was forced to give up its trademark rights by the government, not because it "became" generic.

[Emilio Lizardo]

I figured there was a simple answer. Thanks to everyone who responded!