The XCZs of Naming Drugs

Forget about dotting the i's and crossing
the t's; go for that virile consonant

by Nemo Hill

Think of the names of any two drugs. It's a good bet your choices will contain some combination of the letters Z, X or C. Take Zoloft, Zyban, Xanax, Clarinex, Celexa or Zithromax. Ever wondered why? In a nutshell it's because the "branding" companies hired to name drugs for pharmaceutical firms have all kinds of theories about which names connect best with people -- prescribing physicians included.

Naming drugs is a complicated business. Drug companies want a name with "sex appeal" for sales. Consumers need hints about what the drug does. Regulatory agencies rule out names that sound too generic or imply medical claims. A new name can't be a dangerous sound-alike: if it's too similar to the name of another drug, a pharmacist might accidentally harm a client.

Branding companies often test up to 15 names for each new drug. The process involves checking international data banks to make sure the names aren't copyrighted and won't offend -- inadvertent vulgarities can easily crop up in other languages. Then the names are presented to focus groups and tested in surveys. Panels of doctors are recruited to scribble and phone in prescriptions to see if confusion arises. Finally, the two best names are submitted to the regulatory agencies for approval. In the US, the FDA rejects about a third of all applications annually.

Research shows that people respond to a name because of its connotations and the way it sounds. Even certain letters and letter combinations are thought to have a subliminal impact. Take the letter X -- it's supposed to signify high-tech innovation (think Xerox or X-Box). The letters Z, C and D are emphatic-sounding consonants, which intimate that a drug is powerful. One company's research showed that the harder the tonality of the name, the more efficacious the drug was in the minds of physicians.

As a result, pharmaceutical companies are quick to register new names starting with Z and X. Many do so before they even begin developing drugs to match. In an industry that produces 12,000 different drugs and can spend $1 million on choosing a name, it makes sense to stockpile as many desirable names (and letter combinations) as possible. Few could rival the creativity of a drug company in India whose copycat version of the anti-impotence drug Cialis may soon be known as "Y-End." Their knock-off of Viagara ("vital, Niagara-like") is simply called Erecto.