What's in a drug name?: Today So Far

What's in a name? A lot, if you're talking about pharmaceutical drugs. And we're all gonna get familiar with new Covid drug names as the pandemic becomes endemic.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for Feb. 17, 2022.

You may already be comfortable saying "Comirnaty" instead of "that Pfizer vaccine." Moderna's vaccine is now "Spikevax" which sounds pretty cool, like it was written for an action movie, starring the latest Paw Patrol pup.

Drugs, treatments, etc. often get two names: a more generic, sciencey name, and a brand name.

“The first one is sort of standardized across the board,” said Professor Rodney Ho with the University of Washington’s School of Pharmacy.

“So the infectious disease specialist would know the effect of the drug by looking at these (terms),” he said.

Upon first glance, a doctor might see a name that includes "cycline" and know it is a type of antibiotic. Or they see "mab" and know it's a monoclonal antibody treatment. "Vir" implies it's an antiviral. And so on.

“The brand name, typically, is a shorter name and is easier to remember by having some sort of angle ... it is also driven by marketing firms," Ho said.

For Pfizer to come up with "Comirnaty" for its Covid vaccine, it combined "Covid," "mRNA," "community," and "immunity" with the goal of getting customers to think of all that when they hear the brand name.

“The brand name is important for the drug company, to make a soundbite in their commercial, especially now that people do direct-to-consumer," Ho said. "Think of the shingles vaccine …. The vaccine is called ‘Shingrix’ so people can recognize it.”

That's why we all say "Aspirin," instead of "acetylsalicylic acid." And it might be why we will all ask for "Paxlovid" if we get a moderate case of Covid, instead of saying "nirmatrelvir" (which is good because I can't say that). Or to put it in a way you might be familiar with: You may have asked for Tamiflu in the past, when you were sick with the flu (aka oseltamivir).

Ho notes that, once upon a time, doctors and pharmacists had a handful of drug names to remember. But those days are over. We are in an age of drug marketing. Now, customers see TV commercials and bring brand names to their doctors.

And just as we were getting cozy with these all these names, King County announced that it is nixing the vaccine requirement for restaurants, theaters, and other venues. This comes on the heels of the cancelation of the state's outdoor mask mandate. And this also means that individual businesses can choose to have their own Covid vaccine requirement. But the county is no longer ordering it. Read more details about this here.

One final thing — I want to point you to a special KUOW project called "Postcards From a Pandemic." This is a pretty cool effort floating around the newsroom right now. KUOW is collecting "audio postcards" about pandemic moments. Maybe it's a moment of joy, loss, change, art, or a time you were tested — a snapshot, big or small, that stands out over the past couple years. Basically, they're asking you to record a voice memo on your phone and send it in. It might get played on air. Check here for the full details.

Have a comment or want to reach out to me? Send me an email at dyer@kuow.org.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Marnie Gustavson grew up in the Seattle-area. Over the years she has worked in Afghanistan to help 10,000 girl and boy scouts. But she fled the country when the Taliban took over the past year. Now, she's back in Kabul. Read more about why. (Courtesy of Michael Jardine)

DID YOU KNOW

I want to clear something up. I got an email from a reader about a newsletter I wrote a couple weeks ago. I made a quip about "stealth omicron," saying "I don't know who is coming up with these names, but they need to lay off."

A reader wrote in and told me to do my research, noting that the coronavirus variants are named according to the Greek alphabet. They felt I was doing readers a disservice by not reporting that the World Health Organization moved to the current naming system during this pandemic (something I have previously written about in this newsletter). While I was joking, it seems as if my wife and my therapist are right — I'm not funny. So I'm mentioning that here in case there is any lingering confusion.

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