Drug Names and Reporting Drug Use in Journals

Objective:

To provide a basic introduction on how pharamceuticals are named and how to report the use of drugs in your research.

 

Contents:

 

All pharmaceuticals have two different ways of being named:

Generic name: all drugs have one (and only one) generic name.

Trade name: most drugs (unless sold under their generic name) have 1 or more trade names depending upon which company manufactures the particular brands you are purchasing.

 

As an example, if you walk into one of our stores in town to purchase an over-the-counter (OTC) headache medication you have a large and somewhat bewildering selection process to deal with. This becomes even worse when choosing among cold medications! However, if you read the labels looking for the generic name of the drug you are purchasing you can compare products (and pricing). Note that many cold medications have 2-4 different active ingredients.

 

Let's go back to headache medications. If you prefer brand names you will likely purchase Tylenol®, a registered trade name of McNeil Consumer Healthcare (DIVISION OF McNEIL-PPC, INC. FORT WASHINGTON, PA 19034 USA. However, if you examine the shelf, you will likely find a generic version of acetaminophen being sold under the generic name (acetaminophen) or some other trade name. You might save yourself some money by purchasing a generic version of the drug. However, be sure to check the amount of drug present in each tablet, caplet, or milliliter (depending on the formulation you want). If you want 500mg tabs then don't buy the 325mg tabs!

What about the drugs we use on our research animals? The same principles apply. Xylazine is the generic name of a sedative/analgesic that we commonly use on animals at UAF. Some of you who have been around for many years might know this drug by its original trade name - RompunR®. Research and development on xylazine was done by a company called Bayer. Licensing of drugs permits the company that did the original R&D to have a limited monopoly, presumably to recoup expenses for discovering the drug and obtaining FDA licensing. However, after this monopoly is ended (the time frame is complicated and can range from 10 - 20 years) other companies are granted the opportunity to manufacture "generic" versions of the drug. This is why xylazine was available only from Haver Lockhart (this company does not exist any longer) as Rompun®. The drug was also very expensive during this time. About 15 years ago generic versions of xylazine produced by other pharmaceutical companies came available and the price suddenly dropped. New trade names appeared: TranquiVed®, Gemini®, AnaSed®, Cervizine®,etc.; however, these are all the same drug - xylazine.

 

Reporting drugs used in the scientific literature:

All journals have their own specifics on how to report drugs within the materials and methods sections of journal articles; however, there are some basic requirements.

You must report the drug using the generic name with doses present in units per body weight (usually mg/kg). In brackets, footnote, or some other means you will be required to give the trade name of the formulation that you used and the name of the manufacturer with city, state/province (possibly zip code or postal code).

Examples:
Reindeer were sedated using a single dose of 0.2mg/kg xylazine (TranquiVed, Vedco, Vedco Inc, St Joseph, Missouri) administered by deep intramuscular injection.
 
Arctic ground squirrels were anesthetized using methoxyflurane (Metofane, Shering Plough, ) administered by an open drop method. Briefly, 2-3ml of methoxyflurane was applied to a cotton ball and placed in a 2l glass container. This anesthetic soaked cotton was covered with additional dry cotton to prevent contact with the squirrel. The squirrel was then placed within the container and it was sealed. Anesthetic induction was monitored through the glass and the squirrel was removed once loss of consciousness occurred.