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WASHINGTON DC - The
national trade association of drug and pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America® today announced a sweeping change in the manner in which prescription
drugs are marketed. Starting January 1,
2015, the prescription pharmaceutical products will be renamed to make them
more user-friendly. At the suggestion of
the Federal Food and Drug Administration and NASA, prescription drugs will be
given common names, just like tropical storms and hurricanes. For example, Pfizer’s Protonix, its street
name for pantprazole sodium, will simply be renamed “Peter”, which is much
easier to remember. (In some border states
such as Arizona and Texas, it will be also available under the name “Pedro”.
Some drug names will not be
changed, however, because their drug names are household words, like Xerox or Kotex. For example, aspirin will still
be called aspirin, and sildenafil citrate will continue to be marketed under the name Viagra. However, less well-known drugs will receive
new common names, randomly selected from baby names lists. Some drugs have already been assigned new
names, such as “Jordan” for isosorbide dinitrate,
and “Billy” for isosorbide mononitrate.
The FDA will make the name assignments to avoid conflicts among the
several manufacturers.
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| sildenafil citrate |
“Think how much easier will be
for patients,” said L. Horatio Gumm, the Consumer Advocate of PhRMA. “When asking for a prescription for Viagra,
for example, your physician will simply ask if you are currently taking Jordan
or Billy, instead of the current chemical names which hardly anyone, including many
drug chain pharmacists can remember.”
A shortlist of pharmaceutical names
has been released, and is shown below.
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| "Billy", formerly isosorbide mononitrate. |
| Old Name | New Name |
| fisosorbide mononitrate |
Billy |
| isosorbide dinitrate |
Jordan |
| sildenafil citrate |
Viagra (unchanged) |
| Tramadol |
Suzi |
| medical marijuana |
Dr. Mary Jane |
| pravastatin sodium |
Walter |
| Diazepam |
Sasha |
| pantprazole sodium |
Peter (Pedro in some markets) |
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