Allego l'articolo dal titolo:The right name is nearly as effective as the drug itself
pubblicato da: The Morning call.com all'indirizzo: http://www.mcall.com/business/local/all-drugnamegame.6233371jan18,0,5329207.story
Oltre che nel caso dei farmaci, la giusta scelta del nome influenza anche il futuro di ogni bimbo che nasce...
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The right name is nearly as effective as the drug itself
By Tom Murphy Of The Associated Press
January 18, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS - Prozac. Viagra. Lipitor.
The names of these incredibly popular medicines don't have defined meanings. But millions of dollars are spent creating just the right sound and image.
Research shows letters with a hard edge such as P, T or K convey effectiveness. X seems scientific. L, R or S provide a calming or relaxing feel. Z means speed.
Earlier this month, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. came up with Effient as the name for its new heart drug. ''I would call that a fairly bold name because Effient seems to be just a letter or two off from efficient,'' said Anthony Shore, global director of naming and writing at Landor Associates.
Drug companies often delve into a weird science that ties symbolism to letters or prefixes when they hunt for the next hot brand name. In the case of Prozac, the first syllable makes the speaker pucker up and push out a burst of air, which grabs attention and implies effectiveness, said Jim Singer, who is president of the branding company Namebase and helped Lilly name the antidepressant.
The naming process isn't easy, or getting any easier. Regulatory guidelines are becoming more restrictive, and the brand market is more crowded. More than 14,000 new drug names were filed last year with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a 23 percent increase from 2003, according to Thomson CompuMark, a trademark research firm. The Food and Drug Administration reviews between 300 and 400 names each year.
''It's getting almost impossible to do,'' said Bob Lee, trade counsel for Lilly.
The payoffs, however, can be huge. Global pharmaceutical sales totaled $643 billion in 2006, according to IMS Health, which tracks prescription information. Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug, rang up more than $3 billion in sales during the third quarter last year.
It can cost $250,000 to $500,000 to create and test the name, then a couple of million dollars more to shepherd it through trademark searches and regulatory reviews. The entire process can last up to three years.
They try to keep the name within two or three syllables or under nine letters so people can pronounce and remember it, said Scott Piergrossi, creative director for the consulting firm Brand Institute Inc., which has tested thousands of brands for drugmakers.
''It can't be too intimidating in the look, the feel, the tone and the meaning itself to patients,'' said Brand Institute CEO James Dettore.
The name also must say something. That's where symbolism can help.
Lilly's brand for the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis is derived from ciel, the French word for sky.
It provides a smooth, fluid sound that offers a sense of intimacy, said Landor's Shore. In contrast, Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra evokes the power of Niagara Falls.
''I think Viagra really hits the bull's-eye on virility,'' Shore said.
Made-up words that rely only on this subconscious symbolism are not the top choice for drugmakers.
''All other things being equal, a word without any obvious meaning will require more marketing investment in order to be memorable,'' Shore said.
They prefer a name that says something about the drug, like Allegra, which alludes to the allergy relief it provides. They also like brand names that use real words to convey meaning.
''It almost offers the patient hope through the name,'' Piergrossi said.
One big taboo: The name cannot make a claim about a drug. The hair-loss treatment Rogaine, for instance, was originally called Regain until the FDA rejected it.
But the result can be worthwhile. Prozac became Lilly's top-selling drug, with sales topping $2 billion before it lost patent protection in 2000. The brand name became so common it wound up in Webster's New World College Dictionary.
And that name had no basis in reality, said Namebase's Singer.
''It's just a good sounding word,'' he said
Distinguersi già nel nome
Levophed e Levaquin, Zyprexa e Zyrtec, Lamictal e Labetalol: solo
alcuni esempi di come siano sempre
più simili i nomi delle specialità medicinali.
Una circostanza che, ricorda un report di US Pharmacopeia, non è priva di pericoli per il paziente.
Un problema molto sentito negli Stati Uniti, dove dal 2004 è più che raddoppiata la presenza di denominazioni che possono confondere le idee ai malati, ma spesso anche agli infermieri e ai medici. Se nel 2004 era stato infatti stimato che i nomi di 1.750 'coppie' di medicinali potessero trarre in inganno - riporta Reuters - oggi il numero è arrivato a 3.170. In tutto, sono 1.470 farmaci del cui nome esiste
almeno un 'doppione'.
I dati derivano dall'analisi di circa 26mila prodotti presenti sul mercato americano. E secondo il report, solo nel 2006 e in 519 strutture sanitarie, sono stati registrati ben 176.409 errori dovuti a scambio di medicine, a causa dei quali l'1,4% dei pazienti avrebbe subìto gravi danni. In sette casi gli sfortunati malati sarebbero deceduti. La soluzione, secondo gli
esperti, potrebbe essere quella
di utilizzare le lettere maiuscole per differenziare i nomi troppo
simili: per esempio acetaZOLamide
contro il glaucoma e acetoHEXamide, contro il diabete. Inoltre, le ricette dovrebbero indicare chiaramente la patologia curata dal farmaco prescritto.
Tratto da Farmacista33, 4 febbraio 2008 - Anno 4, Numero 20
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