# Name that medication **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715 "2026-01-15T16:23:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/21 "2026-01-16T19:21:14Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Brings to mind the possibly NSFW generic Viagra called micoxaflopin Also Midixadud, Midixadrupin, Ibepokin. Moving away from boner pills, Dave Barry once suggested Klambake as a possible generic drug name up for grabs. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/22 "2026-01-16T19:27:32Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I don’t know what to make of semaglutide Semaglutide - Ozempic Tirzepatide - Zepbound Retatrutide - not yet named All of those are GLP-1s or at least adjacent, using small-molecule peptides. So clearly the “-tide” suffix indicates that peptide origin. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/23 "2026-01-16T19:41:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Drug companies have also rejected names for reasons like finding out that it’s a dirty word in another language. The addiction-treatment medication ReVia got its capital V after the manufacturer learned that certain Spanish speakers pronounce their Vs as Bs…and “Rebia” sounds like the Spanish word for “rabies.” ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/24 "2026-01-16T19:43:00Z")
Likewise, there’s a real prevalent family of medications which end with -mab because they’re **m** onoclonal **a** nti **b** odies. > **[Monoclonal antibody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoclonal_antibody)** > > A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. > Monoclonal antibodies are identical and can thus have monovalent affinity, binding only to a particular epitope (the part of an antigen that is recognized by the antibody). In contrast, polyclonal antibodies are mixtures of antibodies derived from multiple plasma cell lineages ... ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/25 "2026-01-16T19:47:12Z")
Yup! Used to have adalimumab in the fridge. Now have abatacept, with the “cept” meaning it’s in a class of re **cept** or fusion proteins. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/26 "2026-01-16T21:30:31Z")
25 years ago, in my grocery store pharmacy days, I’d get calls from people saying, “I need my isorbride, Norvasec, Zorcor, and (a fourth drug that escapes me right now) refilled. I hope you can understand me.” I would tell them, “We’ll do it!” Isosorbide is an antiarrhymic for the heart. Norvasc (amlodipine) is for blood pressure. Zocor (simvastatin) is a cholesterol med. The fourth one was in the same family. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/27 "2026-01-16T21:31:51Z")
In the early days of RX drug advertising (have I ever said that I hate it?) Barry had a column where he said that Zocor sounded like the evil ruler of the planet Wombax. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/28 "2026-01-17T00:25:57Z")
Prilosec (omeprazole) was originally called Losec, when it was still prescription-only, and got the Pri- added because there were mixups between Losec and Lasix (furosemide). They have similar milligram strengths as well - 20 and 40mg doses. When I was in school and newly minted in the early and mid 1990s, one of the most common mixups was Feldene (piroxicam), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and Seldane (terfenadine), a nonsedating antihistamine that was later taken off the American market because it had a lot of drug interactions. Allegra (fexofenadine) is an analogue of Seldane that has since gone OTC in the U.S., and yes, I have heard about pharmacy employees named Allegra being called Fexofenadine as a joke. Piroxicam is rarely used nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/29 "2026-01-17T00:39:38Z")
Update: The fourth drug was pronounced “atenol.” Atenolol, for BP or heart rhythms. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/30 "2026-01-17T17:35:03Z")
With the success of the antidepressant Rexulti, expect followup drugs with names like Joyalpro, Regladipram and Simhappizine. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/31 "2026-01-18T00:18:09Z")
There’s a formulation of bupropion that’s called Forfivo. That’s pretty clever; it’s a 450mg once-daily extended-release tablet. I also once saw a Preparation H knockoff called Formulation R, while we’re on that word. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/32 "2026-01-18T05:14:54Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > In the early days of RX drug advertising (have I ever said that I hate it?) Barry had a column where he said that Zocor sounded like the evil ruler of the planet Wombax. That must be where I saw the “Klambake” comment. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/33 "2026-01-20T13:35:17Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Likewise, there’s a real prevalent family of medications which end with -mab because they’re **m** onoclonal **a** nti **b** odies. I think that they are moving away from that for future biopharm drugs. I don’t know how they are going to name them though. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715/34 "2026-01-20T14:07:19Z")
They could expand their naming pool considerably if they didn’t insist on putting in vowels in lexically correct locations [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-that-medication/1026715.md?page=1)