Anatomical Therapeutic classification

The PDF version of the EMEA s Community Register lacks links to EPARs, but does include brand and nonproprietary names for each product, company and country of origin, anatomic/therapeutic classification codes, and indication keywords. It also contains presentation details (dosage form, strength), dates of application validation and opinion by the CHMP, and elapsed time (number of days) spent in review. 

Therapeutic Categories Projects have been classified according to their targets in terms of likely therapeutic markets. We adopted the ATC (Anatomic Therapeutic Classification) at the 3rd digit level. For example, HIV-antiviral correspond to the ATC3 class JSC. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes the use of an Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system for the collection and analysis of data on drug use. This was originally developed by Scandinavian authorities, and uses a combination of anatomical, therapeutic and chemical criteria to assign drugs to an individual class. The top-level categories, which are anatomically based, are listed in Table 3.2. 

ATC therapeutic group based on the World Health Organisation Nordic Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification Index (ATC) codes. 

Figure 1.6 Number of antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants per antibiotic anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification in 13 European countries in 1997. In parentheses are the ATCs used by the WHO. Tet = tetracyclines, Pen = penicillin, Ex-Pen = extended-spectrum penicillins, B-Lac = (3-lactamase-sensitive penicillins. Cep = cephalosporins, TMP = trimethoprim (alone or in combination), Mac + Lin = macrolides and lincosamides, Mac = macrolides, Lin = lincosamides. Ami = aminoglycosides, and Qui = quinolone. The 13 countries are SP = Spain, GR = Greece, BG = Belgium, PR = Prance, PL = Portugal, IT = Italy, PI = Pinland, UK = United Kingdom, DE = Denmark, AU = Austria, GE = Germany, SW = Switzerland, and NL = Netherlands. (Based on data from Molstad et al., 2002.)...

HAN = British Approved Name s DCF Denomination Commune Franyaise USAN United States Adopted Name 7 CAS Chemical Abstracts Sendee 3- ATC = Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (Classification of Drugs)... 

The ATC Classification System developed by the Nordic coimtries and widely used in Europe meets most classification requirements. Drugs are classified according to their Anatomical, Therapeutic and Chemical characteristics into five levels of specificity, the fifth being that for the single chemical substance. 

The therapeutic area is defused as being the third ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Code) classification level. 

This cumulative list is pubhshed now only as a CD-ROM which contains the list in a PDF format and a searchable database (by INN name (all or part), list number, CAS, alternate names, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification, etc. ..). 

The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification that is used here is recommended by WHO and is used in several European countries. 

In the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system, the drugs are divided into different groups according to their site of action and therapeutic and chemical characteristics. 

Table 4.2 shows the number of groups within which pharmaceutical presentations are classified at different levels of therapeutic differentiation. The classifications are made up of 15 and 14 main therapeutic chapters in England and Spain respectively. At this level, products are grouped according to their therapeutic effect in terms of the main anatomical systems gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system and so on. 

In the surgical literature, CCA is usually classified as either intrahepatic or extrahepatic, and intrahepatic CCA is further classified as either peripheral tumour that arises distal to second-order bile duct branches, or hilar tumour (Klatskin s tumour) that arises from one of the hepatic ducts or the bifurcation of both hepatic ducts. This last entity is classified as intrahepatic, even though the right and left hepatic ducts join outside the liver anatomically. These three types of CCA, peripheral (20%-25%), hilar (50%-60%) and extrahepatic (20%-25%), are traditionally regarded as distinct disease entities from a clinical, therapeutic, and radiological point of view. However, this classification scheme is controversial. Differentiation between peripheral and hilar forms is difficult, since peripheral CCA can spread continuously into the hepatic hilum, whereas hilar CCA often shows continuous infiltration to the intrahepatic bile ducts. In addition, the distinction between hilar CCA and extrahepatic CCA is not clearly defined. 

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