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Abstract

This is an update to a paper that appeared in the very first issue of the Journal of Generic Medicines in October 2003. Over the past few years, pharmaceutical manufacturers have started to diversify their portfolios to include generic medicines as a way to maximise their investment in patented drugs. With this dynamic as context, understanding the development and construction of a generic name may be helpful both to the manufacturer of patented drugs who wants to support the perception of distinctiveness among competition, as well as to the generics marketer who wants to leverage the legacy of previously patented drugs. This paper intends to define generic names, explain their purpose and the challenges they pose to manufacturers, provide some guidance on their development, and identify how the non-proprietary name can support marketing opportunities.

Keywords

USAN INN create develop how to marketing

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References

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In Pursuit of Distinction: The Method of the Non-Proprietary Name

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