Why do medications have two names

So, for example, the drug infliximab generic name is also known as Remicade brand name. Some drugs are sold in a generic form as well as in a branded form. If several companies market a drug, it will have several different brand names.

Medicines usually contain inactive ingredients as well as the main active ingredient, the generic drug. These help to formulate the medicine, that is, to make it into its tablet, cream or liquid form. They can also be used, for example, to give tablets a particular colour or affect how long the tablets take to dissolve in the gut. Usually, for most prescription medicines, such small differences are unlikely to create any problems.

Every medication enters the market with two names. The first name is its generic or chemical name. The second name is its brand name , usually something catchy and chosen by the manufacturer who has the patent on the medication. Just like your generic cola versus the brand name Coca-Cola the largest difference between the two is in the price! Brand name drugs are very costly. This money is spent on research and development as well as 3 phases of clinical trials required by Health Canada before the medication can be approved.

The high cost of new brand name drugs is also what can prevent them from being covered under government insurance plans. The back half of the drug name is the same for all drugs in a particular class — for instance, there are a whole raft of cholesterol-lowering drugs that end in -vastatin : atorvastatin Lipitor , fluvastatin Lescol , rosuvastatin Crestor , simvastatin Zocor , and several others.

Some other class suffixes include:. So where do these suffixes come from? And sometimes they're just made up. If you're the first company to come up with a drug in that class, you may get to set the pattern that all the others who come after have to follow.

As to the prefix what comes before the suffix to identify the individual drug , you can make it pretty much whatever you want — subject to the USANC's rules and approval.

And then it's just up to the clinical trials to show it's effective… and to doctors, patients, and marketing departments to make it successful. Or not. But if it is, you can bet everyone will call it by the brand name anyway. Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer Analysis. What are they? A spelling bee contestant's nightmare?

They're names for drugs.