Classification and naming of drugs

Chapter 7 Classification and naming of drugs




The wider availability of proprietary medicines through pharmacy sale and direct to the public has the potential for greater confusion to consumers (patients) and doctors.




Nomenclature (names)


Any drug may have names in all three of the following classes:




The full chemical name describes the compound for chemists. It is obviously unsuitable for prescribing.


A non-proprietary (generic,2 approved) name is given by an official (pharmacopoeia) agency, e.g. WHO.



The generic names diazepam, nitrazepam and flurazepam are all of benzodiazepines. Their proprietary names are Valium, Mogadon and Dalmane respectively. Names ending in –olol are adrenoceptor blockers; those ending in –pril are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors; and those in –floxacin are quinolone antimicrobials. Any pharmaceutical company may manufacture a drug that has a well-established use and is no longer under patent restriction, in accordance with official pharmacopoeial quality criteria, and may apply to the regulatory authority for a licence to market. The task of authority is to ensure that these generic or multi-source pharmaceuticals

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Jun 18, 2016 | Posted by in PHARMACY | Comments Off on Classification and naming of drugs

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