Have you ever wondered why medications like Viagra, Lunesta, Advair, or Paxlovid have such names?
Scott Piergrossi, the president of the Brand Institute, a Miami-based naming company, explains that while people often poke fun at pharmaceutical brand names, they should understand that the purpose of a drug’s brand name is to minimize confusion.
“Naming a drug is both an art and a science”
Todd Bridges, the global president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the regulatory body of the Brand Institute, states that the drug naming process consists of three phases.
Viagra is one of the most evocative drug names – (Photo: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)
- Phase 1: A branding and marketing strategy company develops potential names.
- Phase 2: Experts from the commercial, management, and legal departments of the drug manufacturer evaluate the names.
- The final phase involves legal procedures related to the FDA’s evaluation and approval.
“Although naming a drug might seem quirky, it’s a very elaborate process,” says Suzanne Martinez, a strategist at Intouch, a Chicago-based pharmaceutical marketing agency. “Naming a drug is both an art and a science,” she adds.
Creatively, brand strategists and imaginative individuals strive to come up with names that resonate with consumers through both messaging and tone. This involves challenges related to language, legal issues, and text. Simultaneously, they aim to avoid any prefixes or suffixes that could have negative implications or offend the drug’s name.
This can be complex, as the pharmaceutical business crosses borders, and “most pharmaceutical companies seek a name that can work globally,” Martinez explains.
A name or a syllable that has meaning in the U.S. might be inappropriate in the European market. For instance, the word “mist” means “fog” and has a positive connotation in English, but it translates to “manure” in German.
Piergrossi reveals that, on average, pharmaceutical companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a drug name, and the entire process typically takes 2-3 years, although it is quicker for COVID-19 medications.
Why is the drug named Viagra?
When developing a name, strategists sometimes try to embed a reference to the biology behind the drug. For instance, the cancer treatment drug Xalkori is named after ALK, which stands for anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor, while Zelboraf, used for treating malignant melanoma, is a molecule that inhibits the BRAF gene.
“They sound like strange names, but they can suggest to doctors how they work,” says R. John Fidelino, head of innovation and impact at The Development, a New York City-based brand strategy and marketing consulting firm.
Sometimes companies want their drug brand names to evoke emotions or suggest the drug’s effects; for example, Advair (for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) includes words related to air and breath.
As a participant in the naming of Viagra, the first drug designed to address erectile dysfunction, Fidelino explains: “The name was chosen because it embodies the vigor and vitality that a man wants to experience and achieve in overcoming erectile dysfunction.”
Common drug names are often based on specific syllables strung together to convey information about the chemical structure or effects of the drug. For instance, Bebtelovimab is a newly approved monoclonal antibody that may be used to treat COVID-19; like other monoclonal antibodies, its name ends with -mab.
In the U.S., these names are approved and designated by the United States Adopted Names Council as a prerequisite for marketing a drug. Martinez states: “The last part of the drug’s name indicates its type. It’s like a little scientific formula in a name.”
Ultimately, the FDA will grant approval for a drug’s brand name.
To determine whether to approve a proposed name, one of the steps the FDA uses is a software program commonly referred to as POCA (Phonetic and Orthographic Computerized Analysis). This program employs an advanced algorithm to assess the similarity between drug names, both when spoken and written as prescriptions.
