Serious question. They all have very outrageous, strange names and I’m positive they mean something, but where do those names come from?? Someone has to know!
In: 10
Brand names come from marketing.
Generic names (chemical drug names) come from a naming system.
The end of a drug (generally speaking) is a bit like a last name. It tells you what family it comes from.
So, your friend Bobby Smith comes from the “Smith” family. In olden days, this meant he was a blacksmith- so not only does his last name tell you what family he’s from, but what his family “do”.
So, to use this example loosely, a drug name ending in “-pril” is from the family of ACE inhibitors- they lower blood pressure in a special way.
So, if you have a drug ending in “-pril” e.g. ramipril, enalapril, fosinopril…we know they’re from the “-pril” family, and work as an Ace inhibitor to lower blood pressure.
Other loose examples:
“-sartan” — Angio retensin II blockers- also lower blood pressure, but in a different way to the “-pril” family. E.g. Candesartan.
“-statin”– lowers cholesterol. E.g Simvastatin.
This is just a basic rundown using drugs from Australia so i hope this helps.
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