Saturday, December 09, 2006
Xylotriptyzoqanukine: Drug Name Origins
Ever wonder how drug companies come up with such bizarre names for their drugs as Lipitor, Viagra, or Xylocaine? The FDA has a very interesting article on drug names, including how drug names are developed, what goes into a drug's name, and how the wrong name can be lethal.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Fascinating, although a little dry. I especially liked the part about the handwriting problems with Coumadin. I heard that drug companies will intentionally give the "generic" name a ridiculously complicated and heard to remember name to reduce the popularity of the generic equivalent. Not sure if that's true or not.
I agree, a little dry. I tried to find a more interesting article with the same answer, but that was it. I didn't know that about the generic - not surprised.
Post a Comment