How do they come up with names for perscription drugs?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Like cats, drugs often have more than one name. There is the formal, generic name, created by the company, perhaps derived from its major ingredient. Then, of course, there is the marketing name, derived from the masterful efforts of marketing departments to make the product seem all-powerful and absolutely essential. There have been problems with confusing names, especially sound-alikes, which may result in incorrect prescriptions. The FDA is aware of the situation; see, for example, “Evaluating Drug Names for Similarities: Methods and Approaches, Public Meeting” (“Meeting formerly called Minimizing Medication Errors – Evaluating the Drug Naming Process”), June 26, 2003 (http://www.fda.gov/cder/meeting/drugNaming.htm).