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International nonproprietary name
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<p>An International Nonproprietary Name (INN) is an official <a href="/facts/Trademark_distinctiveness/nENLNhIF">generic</a> and nonproprietary name given to a <a href="/facts/Pharmaceutical_drug/h9mhwWP2">pharmaceutical substance</a> or an <a href="/facts/Active_ingredient/oeDx5S19">active ingredient</a>, encompassing <a href="/facts/Chemical_compound/37FXqqtv">compounds</a>, <a href="/facts/Peptide/C4ltc7UG">peptides</a> and low-molecular-weight <a href="/facts/Protein/Jxmagu3E">proteins</a> (e.g., <a href="/facts/Insulin/oXG0myt1">insulin</a>, <a href="/facts/Hormone/WFnBnINJ">hormones</a>, <a href="/facts/Cytokine/SdWpWABH">cytokines</a>), as well as complex biological products, such as those used for <a href="/facts/Gene_therapy/CaxRLfKM">gene therapy</a>. INNs are intended to make communication more precise by providing a unique standard name for each active ingredient, to avoid <a href="/facts/Medical_prescription/4jt1T3mY">prescribing</a> errors. The INN system was initiated by the <a href="/facts/World_Health_Organization/YNN3bgug">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) in 1953. </p><p>Having unambiguous standard names for each pharmaceutical substance (<a href="/facts/Standardization/vS9AhNMS">standardization</a> of <a href="/facts/Drug_nomenclature/eUlpjE7T">drug nomenclature</a>) is important because a drug may be sold under many different brand names, or a branded medication may contain more than one drug. For example, the branded medications Celexa, Celapram and Citrol all contain the same active ingredient whose INN is <a href="/facts/Citalopram/qepx3XJy">citalopram</a>. The antibacterial medication known as <a href="/facts/Co-trimoxazole/dcYzn4mR">co-trimoxazole</a> as well as those under the brand names <a href="/facts/Bactrim/dcYzn4mR">Bactrim</a> and <a href="/facts/Septran/dcYzn4mR">Septran</a> all contain two active ingredients easily recognisable by their INN: <a href="/facts/Trimethoprim/9sfURYaJ">trimethoprim</a> and <a href="/facts/Sulfamethoxazole/UkU1fdcP">sulfamethoxazole</a>. </p><p>The WHO publishes INNs in English, <a href="/facts/Neo-Latin/mbBrTVEd">Latin</a>, French, Russian, Spanish, <a href="/facts/Modern_Standard_Arabic/rXAjtFSs">Arabic</a>, and <a href="/facts/Standard_Chinese/ofl48GA8">Chinese</a>, and a drug's INNs are often <a href="/facts/Cognate/nXETf5Y4">cognate</a> across most or all of the languages, with minor spelling or pronunciation differences, for example: <i><a href="/facts/Paracetamol/SNDfQWcf">paracetamol</a></i> (<a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">en</a>) <i><i>paracetamolum</i></i> (<a href="/facts/Neo-Latin/mbBrTVEd">la</a>), <i><i>paracétamol</i></i> (<a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">fr</a>) and парацетамол (<a href="/facts/Russian_language/ETXrTgHV">ru</a>). An established INN is known as a <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-and-policy-standards/inn/inn-lists"><i>recommended</i> INN</a> (rINN), while a name that is still being considered is called a <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-and-policy-standards/inn/inn-lists"><i>proposed</i> INN</a> (pINN). </p><p>National nonproprietary names such as British Approved Names (BAN), Dénominations Communes Françaises (DCF), Japanese Adopted Names (JAN) and United States Adopted Names (USAN) are nowadays, with rare exceptions, identical to the INN. </p>