When I use a word . . . The languages of medicines—trade names, proprietary names, or brand-names

Naming medicinesAs I have previously outlined,1 a medicine can have up to four types of names, distinguishing what a medicine or its name is from what the medicine or its name is called:● name 1—what the medicine is, as indicated by its full chemical name;● name 2—what the medicine’s name is, i.e. its generic name, as assigned in a specific country, such as a British Approved Name, or by the World Health Organization, its International Nonproprietary Name (INN);● name 3—what the medicine’s name is called, i.e. any brand-names assigned by a pharmaceutical company;● name 4—what the medicine itself is called, i.e. colloquial names given to it by the general public, such as street names for recreational drugs and drugs of abuse.Individual medicines have both chemical names and generic names, such as British Approved Names (BANs) and International Nonproprietary names (INNs). Medicinal products are often referred to by the generic names…
Read Original Article: When I use a word . . . The languages of medicines—trade names, proprietary names, or brand-names »