International Nonproprietary Name

The Secretariat informed the Committee that the revised procedure for the selection of International Nonproprietary Names (INN) was adopted by the WHO Governing Bodies in 2005. 

An update on the INN programme was given. The Committee took note of some of the activities and challenges in the INN programme. These included an automated publication process and an Internet-enabled INN submission procedure. 

The Committee noted with thanks the report and update by the Secretariat on the activities and revised INN procedure. 

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International nonproprietary name (INN), British approved name (BAN), Japanese accepted name (JAN), and United States adopted name (USAN). Only selected salts are included. Trade names shown can represent the base or any of the salts included in "Nomenclature". 

Here, mab stands for monoclonal antibody. These letters appear before -mab. Programme on International Nonproprietary Names (INN) Division of Drug Management and Policies, World Health Organization, Geneva. 1997. Web address whalibdoc.who.int/hg/1 997/ WHO Pharm S NOM 1 570.pdf... 

Excipients should be listed in the composition using their Ph Eur name (or one from another national pharmacopeia from an EEA member state), the International Nonproprietary Name, or an exact scientific designation, other than for materials such as preservatives or coloring agents which can be identified by an E-number. Third country pharmacopeial names may be acceptable. Coloring matter is subject to the provisions of specific legislation in the EEA. 

The drug diazepam may serve as an illustrative example. Chemically, this compound is called 7-chloro-l,3-dihy-dro-1 -methyl-5-phenyl-2H-l, 4-benzo-diazepin-2-one, a term too unwieldy for everyday use. A simpler name is diazepam. This is not a legally protected name but a generic (nonproprietary) name. An INN (= international nonproprietary name) is a generic name that has been agreed upon by an international commission. 

Nations Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption and/or Sale Have Been Banned, Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or not Approved by Governments. WHO publishes updates to this list Pharmaceuticals Restrictions in use and availability. WHO publishes also quarterly WHO Drug Information (http //www.who.int/druginformation/) journal which provides an overview of topics of current relevance relating to drug development, safety and regulation. Latest lists of proposed and recommended International Nonproprietary Names (INN) for Pharmaceutical Substances are also published in this journal. 

Spelling of drug names. The World Health Organization devises recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN). These are becoming universal most do not give rise to any confusion, but occasionally we insert an alternative name or spelling. 

A nonproprietary (official, approved, generic) name used in pharmacopoeias and chosen by official bodies the World Health Organization (WHO) chooses recommended International Nonproprietary Names (rINN). The harmonisation of names began 50 years ago, and... 

International travellers with chronic illnesses will be grateful for recommended International Nonproprietary Names (above) as proprietary names often differ from country to country. The reasons are linguistic as well as commercial (see below). 

Traditionalty catecholamines have had a dual nomenclature (as a consequence of a company patenting the name Adrenalin), broadly European and N. American. The latter has been chosen by the World Health Organization as International Nonproprietary Names (INN) (see Ch. 6), and the European Union has directed member states to use INN. Because uniformity has not yet been achieved and because of the scientific literature, we use both. 

Names—international nonproprietary name (INN), chemical name, other names, laboratory code. 

Variation of the name of the medicinal product (both the fancy name and conditions to be met possible confusion with the names of other existing medicinal products shall be avoided in the case of International Nonproprietary Names (INNs), any change shall comply with the following order of preference international normal name, the name in the Pharmacopoeia and the normal name. 

The usual names such as INN (International Non proprietary Names), INNv (proposed International Nonproprietary Names) and other customary names are given in the indexes. In addition, with the spectra of all pharmaceutical substances (with the exception of complex molecules and polymers) the chemical structural formulas and the relative molecular weights are indicated. Therefore the designation by scientific nomenclature has been dispensed with. 

INN International Nonproprietary Name, innate Pertaining to an inborn character, i.e. that determined by genetic makeup. 

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