Comprehensive Nursing Pharmacology Q 5
The name selected by the original manufacturer based on the chemical structure of the drug is the:
A. Chemical name
B. Drug name
C. Generic name
D. Trade name
Correct Answer: C. Generic name
The generic name is the name of the active ingredient. The generic name is granted by the USAN Council and is commonly used to identify a drug during its useful clinical lifetime. Each medicine has an approved name called the generic name. A group of medicines that have similar actions often have similar-sounding generic names. For example, phenoxymethylpenicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and flucloxacillin are in one group of antibiotics.
Option A: A chemical name is given when a new chemical entity (NCE) is developed. The chemical name is a scientific name based on the compound’s chemical structure (e.g., 6-thioguanine) and is almost never used to identify the drug in a clinical or marketing situation.
Option B: The drug name does not exist. A marketed drug has three names: a chemical name, a generic name, and a brand name. The process for naming a marketable drug involves five steps: NCE submission and patent application, generic naming, brand naming, FDA review, and final approval.
Option D: For drugs that make it all the way through development, testing, and regulatory acceptance, the pharmaceutical company then gives the drug a trade name, which is a standard term in the pharmaceutical industry for a brand name or trademark name.