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I have friends who's job it is to come up with names for new drugs. It's actually a difficult task, since it needs to be easy to remember, create a slightly pos

I have friends who's job it is to come up with names for new drugs. It's actually a difficult task, since it needs to be easy to remember, create a slightly positive or neutral association with consumers, and most importantly, not be even close to a dirty/offensive word in any language used in a major market It does result in some super silly names. So much so, that when I studied pharmaceutical sciences, we made a drinking game called "Pokémon or Drug"

mathgeek 6y ago
> most importantly, not be even close to a dirty/offensive word in any language used in a major market The most important reason is actually to make sure it doesn’t sound like any other named drug. Good article on that at https://www.ibtimes.com/why-do-prescription-drugs-have-such-weird-names-blame-branding-consultants-fda-1981819 https://www.ibtimes.com/why-do-prescription-drugs-have-such-... > Patients can wind up taking the wrong prescription if a pharmacist mistakes Foradil, which treats bronchitis, for Toradol, which relieves pain from arthritis, or mixes up the blood-thinner Plavix with the antidepressant Paxil.