# How are drugs named? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144 "2011-12-14T07:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/1 "2011-12-14T07:57:38Z")
Inspired by this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=632404) in MPSIMS. Is there some body that clears names for drugs, or is it totally someone in marketing’s creation? I mean, Viagra, Abilify, and Lipitor sound so cool… is this someone’s job, to come up with cool-sounding names for maltodextrin sulfate or whatever it’s really called? Because I could do that. Check out my drug names: Quaniflex Xernox Rivorex Culvia Sparivor See, it’s easy! ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/2 "2011-12-14T08:45:39Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Is there some body that clears names for drugs, or is it totally someone in marketing’s creation? > > I mean, Viagra, Abilify, and Lipitor sound so cool… is this **someone’s job, to come up with cool-sounding names** for maltodextrin sulfate or whatever it’s really called? Because I could do that. Check out my drug names: Simple answer, yes. There are marketing people at the pharmaceutical companies that come up with marketing names. These are very important, because these names are trademarks and are intended to communicate to doctors and patients in a way that creates sales for the company, and can be protected via the courts via trademark and patent protection. Companies spent lots of time and money to get these names right. Si ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/3 "2011-12-14T13:00:17Z")
The US FDA and others may also give input if brand names are too similar to existing names and may lead to prescribing/dispensing confusion. One example of this is Allergan’s drug Posurdex, which was considered by the FDA to be too similar to Precedex, so the name was changed to Ozurdex. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/4 "2011-12-14T14:03:57Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Culvia This one could also be a car. A Toyota maybe. ---
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/5 "2011-12-14T14:17:17Z")
They spend millions of dollars coming up with those drug names, names that subtly imply what it does. Viagra makes you think of Niagra falls… images of huge flowing gushing big spraying… etc. Qualuudes were supposedly a combination of the words “quiet interlude” which speaks for itself. Halcion is another good example. Back in the day, they didn’t do it this way, and drugs like 'premarin" were named for “pregnant mare’s urine” which is from what it was derived. But these days, it’s 100% marketing, and they spend a fortune on it. Focus groups, etc. And then we complain about the extremely cost of medicine and the manufacturers act all indignant about how much drug development costs. Just call the next erectile dysfunction pill “boner pill 3.0” and save ten million in marketing costs. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/6 "2011-12-14T14:24:33Z")
I read something about this process years ago. One thing that stuck out was how difficult it was to come up with a name that hadn’t already been used. Think about it - if a failed brand of Hungarian toothpaste used the name you just came up with, you’re going to get into trouble if you use it. Huge amounts of research go into it. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/7 "2011-12-14T14:45:34Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > Back in the day, they didn’t do it this way, and drugs like 'premarin" were named for “pregnant mare’s urine” which is from what it was derived. The generic name is still created in a similar way: -mab is the suffix for drugs created from monoclonal antibodies. Other generics are named by modifying the name of the first drug in that class. Statins, cholesterol drugs, are all named after mevastatin, the first drug in the class. (I tried to dig up the origin of the name of mevastatin, but those papers are decades old and not readily available.) And these generic naming conventions are overseen by a body called the [Adopted Names Council](http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-science/united-states-adopted-names-council/generic-drug-naming-explained.page). Other suffixes, prefixes, syllables stuck in the middle, give some hint about the structure or function of a compound. It’s not very precise, but it’s the sort of thing that allows researchers to recognize new compounds as related to older, well-known compounds. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/8 "2011-12-14T15:01:20Z")
[FDA Guidelines](http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm075068.pdf) for naming a drug. Games: Is it a [drug](http://www.sporcle.com/games/LinkinMarc/Drug_or_Pokemon) or a [Pokemon](http://www.sporcle.com/games/LinkinMarc/Drug_or_Pokemon_2)? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/9 "2011-12-14T23:52:55Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > They spend millions of dollars coming up with those drug names, names that subtly imply what it does. Viagra makes you think of Niagra falls… images of huge flowing gushing big spraying… etc. Qualuudes were supposedly a combination of the words “quiet interlude” which speaks for itself. Halcion is another good example. Back in the day, they didn’t do it this way, and drugs like 'premarin" were named for “pregnant mare’s urine” which is from what it was derived. But these days, it’s 100% marketing, and they spend a fortune on it. Focus groups, etc. And then we complain about the extremely cost of medicine and the manufacturers act all indignant about how much drug development costs. **Just call the next erectile dysfunction pill “boner pill 3.0” and save ten million in marketing costs.** Don’t call it [**mycoxafloppin**](http://www.gigposters.com/forums/anything-goes/44308-mycoxafloppin-mydixadrupin.html). ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/10 "2011-12-15T00:04:47Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > This one could also be a car. A Toyota maybe. Lancia made a Fulvia… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/11 "2011-12-15T00:15:04Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Don’t call it [**mycoxafloppin**](http://www.gigposters.com/forums/anything-goes/44308-mycoxafloppin-mydixadrupin.html). That’s the antidote you take after a 4-hour erection. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/12 "2011-12-15T00:24:54Z")
It is rumored that Pfizer is developing a drug combining Viagra with ginko boloba to improve both memory and sexual function. The name? Ginko-Viagra. To help you remember what the fuck you were doing. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/13 "2011-12-15T21:01:30Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Lancia made a Fulvia… According to Martial, the refrain of Fulvia-- Marc Antony’s wife before he met Elizabeth Taylor-- was ‘Either fuck or let’s fight,’ she says.” Martial responds: “Doesn’t she know my prick is dearer to me than life itself? Let the trumpets blare!” So that’s a consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-drugs-named/606144/14 "2011-12-15T21:45:23Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > They spend millions of dollars coming up with those drug names, names that subtly imply what it does. Viagra makes you think of Niagra falls… images of huge flowing gushing big spraying… etc. Good thing they didn’t actually ask people from Da Falls what they thought of when they thought of that word. “Is it a pill to fight urban decay?”