Abstract

Over recent years, drug names have become more complex and difficult to pronounce (e.g. axicabtagene ciloleucel, ▼rurioctocog alfa pegol, ▼riociguat ).1,2 Although some rules underpin drug nomenclature, there are several examples of drugs with similar sounding names that are easily confused. In addition, the different levels of nomenclature (chemical, generic and brand names) may cause confusion for patients. Here, we provide an overview of how drugs get their names, the patterns that can be seen in naming conventions and highlight the risk associated with drugs with similar looking or similar sounding names.