International Nonproprietary Name

Overview

An International Nonproprietary Name (INN; also known as rINN, for recommended International Nonproprietary Name) is the official non-proprietary or generic name given to a pharmaceutical substance, as designated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The plethora of named proprietary preparations containing a given substance can lead to confusion about the identity of the active ingredient. INNs facilitate communication by providing a standard name for each substance. A similar role is played in chemistry by IUPAC names; however, these are less suited to common usage, being typically very long and unwieldy. WHO issues INN names in English, Latin, French, Russian, and Spanish; Arabic and Chinese versions, although not included in the original scheme, are now also being issued.

Name stems

Drugs from the same therapeutic or chemical class are usually given names with the same stem. Stems are mostly placed word-finally, but in some cases word-initial stems are used. They are collected in a publication informally known as the Stem Book.

Example stems are:

• -anib for angiogenesis inhibitors (e.g. pazopanib)
• -anserin for serotonin receptor antagonists, especially 5-HT₂ antagonists (e.g. ritanserin and mianserin)
• -arit for antiarthritic agents (e.g. lobenzarit)
• -ase for enzymes (e.g. asparaginase)
• -azepam for benzodiazepines (e.g. diazepam and oxazepam)
• -caine for local anaesthetics (e.g. procaine or cocaine)
• -cain- for class I antiarrhythmics (e.g. procainamide)
• -coxib for COX-2 inhibitors, a type of anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. celecoxib)
• -mab for monoclonal antibodies (e.g. infliximab);
  • see Nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies
• -navir for antiretroviral protease inhibitors (e.g. darunavir)
• -olol for beta blockers (e.g. atenolol)
• -pril for ACE inhibitors (e.g. captopril)
• -sartan for angiotensin II receptor antagonists (e.g. losartan)
• -tinib for tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g. imatinib)
• -vastatin for HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, a group of cholesterol lowering agents (e.g. simvastatin)
• -vir for antivirals (e.g. aciclovir or ritonavir)
• arte- for artemisinin antimalarials (e.g. artemether)
• cef- for cefalosporins (e.g. cefalexin)
• io- for iodine-containing radiopharmaceuticals (e.g. iobenguane)

Example

INN:	Paracetamol
British Approved Name (BAN):	Paracetamol
United States Adopted Name (USAN):	Acetaminophen
Other generic names:	N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, APAP, p-Acetamidophenol, Acetamol, ...
Proprietary names:	Tylenol®, Panadol®, Panamax®, Perdolan®, Calpol®, Doliprane®, Tachipirina®, ben-u-ron®,Atasol®, and others
IUPAC name:	N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-acetamide

See also

• World Health Organization
• IUPAC nomenclature

External links

• INN information from the WHO
• INN stems and modifiers from the WHO (PDF)

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