Become a Pharmacy Terminology Master: Avoid These 6 Common Errors

Drug discovery is an exciting field that moves by leaps and bounds. In 2020 alone, the US-FDA approved 50 new drugs for the market. Nowadays, drugs cover more classes than ever before, thanks to deeper insights into immunology and human biochemistry, and therapeutics such as siRNAs and monoclonal antibodies promising new advances both in research and in clinical practice.

The impressive growth of pharmacological therapies brings a new challenge to pharmacists and researchers—understanding all the terminology used. Here, I’d like to share some insights from my editing career to steer you away from some common errors in drug nomenclature.

1. Preferring proprietary names over generic ones

In 2013, Gilead’s revolutionary hepatitis C drug Sovaldi was approved by the FDA, offering new hope to millions of hepatitis C sufferers. Subsequently, the stock price rose to over $100 USD from under $20 USD a few years earlier, making Sovaldi a true pharmacy blockbuster and attracting immense media attention. However, the drug had an eye-watering price tag, and generic versions were marketed in developing countries for a tiny fraction of the price. The hype of Sovaldi has waned since, and with time, it will just be known by its generic name, sofosbuvir.

No matter how great a drug’s proprietary success, a generic version will come and conquer the market, leaving its expensive commercial counterparts behind. Given that the generic name will become the main name for any drug in time, we should use the generic name first and foremost. This is especially critical in research manuscripts and journal titles; however, some exceptions occur here as well, such as when the drug company is funding the research.

2. Incorrect capitalization

This point is related to the previous one. It’s a very simple tip but one of the most common errors I encounter in biochemistry and pharmacology papers. Remember to capitalize appropriately; generic names are not capitalized, whereas proprietary names usually take an initial uppercase letter.

For example, if in a microbiology paper, the use of beta-lactamase as a selectable marker is being described, “The Ampicillin-resistance gene (ampR)” would be incorrect but “The ampicillin-resistance gene” would be perfectly right.

Take another example from a drug discovery review article, where the authors would be citing the use of bevacizumab in managing lung cancer as,

“The monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) targets vascular endothelial growth factor.”

In this sentence, Avastin must be capitalized as it a commercial (brand) name but bevacizumab shouldn’t be.

Another error authors often make in their research manuscripts is writing the whole name in capital letters. Drug names are often written in all caps in advertising copy. However, this is not the case for scientific journal articles; capitalize only the first letter of the proprietary name.

3. Using the chemical name inappropriately

N-acetyl-para-aminophenol[A1] 

Do you know this drug? You should do. It is also known as acetaminophen or simply paracetamol and is among the most commonly used NSAIDs. But how often do you encounter it under this name? If I happened to see this name in a biochemistry manuscript, I wouldn’t recognize it and would open my search engine to decipher it.

Therefore, we should use the most common generic name in research papers unless there is a need to specify the structure of the molecule.

Specifying the chemical name entirely may be critical at times, such as when discussing a novel compound. However, once a drug is granted a generic name such as an international nonproprietary name (INN) or (United States adopted name) USAN, it becomes the main name for both clinical and research applications.

4. Incorrect synonyms—adrenaline or epinephrine?

It has become common to see drugs and chemicals marketed under different generic names depending on the territory. Now, with ever-increasing globalization, more efforts are being expended to unify the terminology used in pharmacological research.

As the title of the tip says, is it adrenaline or epinephrine? Simply put, adrenaline is preferred in the UK and Europe, while epinephrine is preferred in the USA and elsewhere. When preparing a research manuscript, check the language style section of the author guidelines and cater your terminology towards that national variety if applicable. Consider using terms from the British Pharmacopeia or European Pharmacopeia for journals preferring British English, or use the USANs for journals preferring American English. The WHO INN is another authoritative and internationally recognized choice.

5. Mismatched suffixes

Generic medicine names follow a variety of nomenclature rules. These names contain generic name stems that signify information about the drug that are useful in pharmacy, such as the drug class. Although these rules help us understand the meanings underlying drug names, some of these stems can sound very similar.

Take the stems –olol and -alol for instance, which can be found in the names propranolol and labetalol, respectively. Not only do these stems sound similar, but they both refer to adrenoreceptor antagonist drugs. It is plausible to mix up other similar stems, such as -mulin and –multin or -planin and –platin. Therefore, when writing your research manuscript, it’s worthwhile to run a quick web search to make sure that you have spelled the names correctly.

6. Using similar-sounding drug classes interchangeably

When discussing a drug in a research paper, we normally introduce its pharmacological class. This provides an informed reader with vital information on its biochemical mechanisms, effects, and comparable drugs. Regardless of the problems of this approach, you should take care not to confuse drug classes with similar names.

Of these four sentences, which is false?

1. “Tramadol is an opioid.”
2. “Tramadol is an opiate.”
3. “Codeine is an opioid.”
4. “Codeine is an opiate.”

The answer is 2. Opiates are natural alkaloid compounds derived from the opium poppy, while opioids are all substances that act on opioid receptors to exert morphine-like effects. Thus, opiates are opioids, but many opioids are not opiates. As tramadol is a fully synthetic opioid, it would be inaccurate to call it an opiate.

Drug nomenclature can be tricky, but with a little knowledge, you can avoid some of the most common errors. You don’t need to be working in drug discovery for a refresher in drug nomenclature terms. Even if your specialty is molecular biology, you may have to write a research paper dealing with drug nomenclature at some point. Editage’s experienced editors can make all the difference in your submission.

References

1. Novel Drug Approvals for 2021. U.S. Food and Drug Administration https://www.fda.gov/drugs/new-drugs-fda-cders-new-molecular-entities-and-new-therapeutic-biological-products/novel-drug-approvals-2021 (2022).
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3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Gilead’s Sovaldi™ (Sofosbuvir) for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/press-room/press-releases/2013/12/us-food-and-drug-administration-approves-gileads-sovaldi-sofosbuvir-for-the-treatment-of-chronic-hepatitis-c (2022).
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10. United States Adopted Names naming guidelines. American Medical Association https://www.ama-assn.org/about/united-states-adopted-names/united-states-adopted-names-naming-guidelines (2022).
11. British Pharmacopoeia Commission. British Approved Names 2022. (The Stationery Office, London, 2021).
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14. Generic Name Stems – Drug Information Portal – U.S. National Library of Medicine https://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov/drugportal/jsp/drugportal/DrugNameGenericStems.jsp (2022).
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17. A1]I have centre-aligned this text to emphasize its presence.