PharmaNaming by Globrands

The Readge blog

Looking to navigate the complex world of drug naming with more confidence? The Readge Blog offers insights into regulatory naming—from INN and brand name approval to risk management and portfolio strategies.

You’ll find:

Practical tips for avoiding rejection by EMA, FDA and WHO
World wide examples of what works (and what doesn’t)
Strategies for building a strong, compliant name system
Articles and perspectives from experts around the world

Whether you're naming your first product or managing an entire portfolio, our blog gives you useful and instructive information.

NB: All images have been checked for copyright issues in advance.

Please let us know if you object to the use of a specific image, and we will remove it immediately.

What story does your brand tell your audience?

A brand narrative is a concise, strategic document that acts as the road map for an organization’s marketing and communications efforts, providing a framework for communicating the brand’s essence to its customers. As “storytelling” has become increasingly ubiquitous, the importance of this exercise has grown exponentially.After all, marketing is just telling a story to an audience in an effective and compelling way. A strategic brand narrative is simply an account of how to

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

4 min read

Why even good pharma names can fail

A strong pharmaceutical name is not the one everyone likes in the first meeting. It is the one that survives the process. In pharmaceutical naming, the strongest name is not always the first favourite. It is the name that survives review. Many pharmaceutical names start with enthusiasm.A shortlist is presented. One name feels right. It sounds modern, distinctive and relevant. The internal team likes it. Marketing likes it. Sometimes even senior management becomes attached to

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

3 min read

The name is the shortest brand narrative

Before a pharmaceutical brand can tell its story, it needs a name that can carry it. Pharmaceutical branding often regards the brand narrative as if it starts with the campaign. The story. The promise. The message. The way the brand explains its relevance to healthcare professionals, patients and internal teams. But in reality, the narrative starts earlier. Why pharmaceutical naming should start where every strong brand story begins: with strategic c

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

4 min read

AI has entered pharma naming. Now the real work begins.

A recent EMA acceptance of an AI-supported pharmaceutical brand name is not the end of human naming expertise. It is proof of why that expertise matters. In April 2026, Brand Institute announced that the European Medicines Agency had approved a pharmaceutical product brand name developed with the support of its proprietary AI-powered naming platform, Brandi™. The name itself will only be disclosed after approval of the corresponding medicinal product. At first glance, this so

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

5 min read

Brand strategy and rebranding

Novo Nordisk recognises that Ozempic has become a true cultural phenomenon and is therefore dropping the name Rybelsus in favour of the better-known brand Ozempic The semaglutide franchise is changing up its branding as Novo Nordisk, seeing the cultural phenomenon that has become Ozempic, is retiring the Rybelsus name in favor of its better-known brand Ozempic. Meet the “Ozempic pill,” a newly tweaked formulation of Novo’s Type 2 diabetes tablet Rybelsus, which is slightly s

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

Brand Portfolio management

We regularly receive enquiries about developing a brand portfolio, which should include all existing brands as well as those introductions planned in the late stage pipeline. As an example of a good brand portfolio strategy, Novartis uses a focused yet diversified brand portfolio approach designed to maximize growth, reduce risk, and maintain leadership across key therapeutic areas: Core Strategy: Novartis concentrates on five core therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, immunolog

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

Using the corporate brand in pharma

During covid19 there were several vaccines on the market, the best known being Comirnaty. Everyone knew it, as it was widely written about and administered, but few knew that this vaccine was from Pfizer and BioNTech. BioNTech was the creator and initial developer of the mRNA vaccine, and Pfizer joined from an early stage as a strategic development and collaboration partner for large-scale production and global distribution. A missed opportunity for manufacturers' brand aware

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

How sustainable are branded generics?

Branded generics are delivering great growth and profitability in emerging markets, but how much longer can they continue to do so? A new...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

5 min read

Drug Name Confusion: why you need professional naming

original article by Kathleen Doheny on Medscape Medical News / Drug Name Confusion: More Than 80 New Drug Pairs Added to the List -...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

5 min read

How drugmakers come up with evocative brand names like Viagra and Lunesta

There’s an art and a science to naming pharmaceutical drugs. When you pick up a prescription of Viagra, Lunesta, Advair, or Paxlovid , y...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

5 min read

Help to find a new name for the monkeypox virus

A group of global experts convened by WHO has agreed on new names for monkeypox virus variants, as part of ongoing efforts to align the...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

How Do Drugs Get Named?

Drug names are the product of complex, multiparty negotiations in which the needs and desires of various stakeholders (patients, pharmaceutical firms, physicians, pharmacists, other health care professionals, and US and international regulators) must be balanced. Since the 1960s, the United States Adopted Names Program has been assigning generic (nonproprietary) names to all active drug ingredients sold in the United States. Pharmaceutical names are assigned according to a sc

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

7 min read

Sanofi launches Impact® brand of medicines for low-income countries

Sanofi Global Health ⁠— a nonprofit unit of Sanofi set up in 2021⁠ — has launched Impact®, a new brand of standard of care medicines...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

Branded Generics: What They Are and Why They’re Profitable

Branded generic drugs attach proprietary names to generic drug molecules and may be marketed similarly to how branded drugs are. picture...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

3 min read

The top 20 drugs by worldwide sales in 2021

It took a global pandemic to end the nine-year reign of AbbVie’s Humira as the world’s best-selling pharmaceutical product—and the final...

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

1 min read

Drug submissions: Procedures to reach regulatory approval

Before a new drug or biologic can go to market, a drug submission must be compiled and filed with all relevant regulatory agencies to seek a review and, ultimately, regulatory approval. Canada, the US and the EU each require different types of drug submissions. Table 1: Drug submission types: Canada, the US and the EU CanadaNew Drug Submission (NDS)―for both drugs and biologics USNew Drug Application (NDA)―for drugs Biologic License Application (BLA)―for biologics EUMarket

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

4 min read

How pharmaceutical names influence the way consumers and doctors view medicines

Does the way pharmaceuticals are named matter when it comes to consumer and healthcare providers? The FDA wants to find out. Although the answers will be rather predictable, The FDA wants to know what, exactly, is in a drug name. Specifically, can a brand moniker determine how consumers and healthcare providers perceive the drug? So, the agency has launched a study to determine whether names sway opinions about a drug's effectiveness. Drugmakers submit their proposed names to

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

2 min read

All in a name: safety first

Most companies when naming a drug want to use something catchy and simple, which will not confuse doctors or patients and maintain safety in a regulatory climate where there is no room for error. What makes a successful name for a drug? Most companies when naming a drug want to use something catchy and simple, which will not confuse doctors or patients and maintain safety in a regulatory climate where there is no room for error. Drug molecules usually start life as a serial n

pharmanaming.com by Readge consultants

3 min read