pharmaceutical naming

Catchword understands the complexity of pharmaceutical naming.

Drug names must meet stringent regulatory requirements set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) to eliminate misleading messaging and to minimize the potential for confusion and errors in the prescription chain.

To ensure that our pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients clear the heightened legal and regulatory obstacles unique to their industry, we utilize a anticipatory approach to drug name development that incorporates regulatory and legal analysis into the drug name development process to consistently optimize the likelihood of drug name acceptability. Visit Catchowrd's pharma and healthcare names portfolio to see samples of our work in this area.

Catchword's process includes the following steps:

Discovery

  • Internal client workshop
  • External workshop with physicians
  • Materials review
  • Development of branding and naming strategy

Name Creation

  • Create thousands of names
  • Assess names for legal/regulatory issues
  • Collaborative name review with client

Legal Assessment

  • A progressive process of global legal evaluations

Name Safety Research

Quantitative and qualitative modules—Measurements include but are not limited to:

  • Visual/phonetic similarity to existing brands/generics
  • Suggestion of an alternative condition or class of drugs
  • Patient safety risk
  • Nomenclature infringement; excessive similarity to USAN/INN stems
  • Deceptive messages; exaggerated or unsupported claims

Market Testing

Linguistic Appropriateness and Brand Appeal—Measurements include:

  • Brand appeal; name-drug fit
  • Brand differentiation
  • Brand memorability
  • Brand perception—fluidity and tone

Management Summary and Recommendation

To contact Catchword's pharma/biotech division, click here.

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