“But who comes up with these drug names?”
I think they throw a dozen scrabble letters up in the air and find the most unpronounceable combination, and that’s the drug name. I’m taking several of those myself.
I see a number of these bizarre names on various drug commercials, and I notice that several of the names end in “mab”, such as the one mentioned here. There has got to be some sort of drug naming convention that I’m unaware of.
I was think thy just put a few kittens on their keyboard and let them play for a few minutes.
The suffix “mumab”...is a shortened version of MUrine Monoclonal AntiBody”....not an official nomenclature.IIRC..but most murine (mouse) derived antibodies use that naming convention. As far as the beginning part...the joke was so that docs would have a hard time saying it...and use the trade name...hence free advertising. Usually it is a combination of drugs use and discovery beginnings.Prime example..the antibiotic “bacitracin”...named after girl named Trecy...in which a bacterium subtilis of which she was infected with was studied...tbe b. Subtilis produced a compound which would kill other bacteria. Compound named “bacitracin”.
But many times there is no discernible reason for choice
If it end in -ab it’s a monoclonal antibody. -vir is anti viral.