Sunday, August 16, 2009

Brands And Generic Names Of Medication Online

In the United States, an official body—the United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council—assigns the generic name. The trade name is developed by company which manufactures the drug. Generic and trade names must be unique to prevent one drug from being mistaken for another when drugs are prescribed and prescriptions are dispensed. FDA avoids possible confusions by agreeing to all the nomenclature offered to them from the pharmaceutical companies.
Government officials, researchers, doctors, and others who write about the new compounds use the drug's generic name because it refers to the drug itself, not to a particular company's brand of the drug or a specific product. However, doctors often use the trade name on prescriptions, because it is easier to remember and doctors usually learn about new drugs by the trade name.