What’s in a Name?

Drug naming is serious business for the pharmaceutical industry, and names must be catchy enough to stick in an ever-expanding market.

By Anita Slomski // Infographic by Flying Chilli // Winter 2009

Drug naming is serious business for the pharmaceutical industry. A catchy name is essential not only to compete in a universe of 12,000 drugs but also to linger in the minds of consumers and practitioners long after the medication goes off patent (about 10 years after it goes to market). What’s more, the value of a drug brand can run into the millions. Here’s the long christening process.

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