USAN Council

Apply for a United States Adopted Name

United States Adopted Name (USAN) Drug Finder

United States Adopted Names FAQ

United States Adopted Names

United States Adopted Names naming guidelines

See naming guidelines the USAN Council follows when naming a new generic drug.

United States Adopted Names

Apply for a United States Adopted Name

Download the application form to apply for a United States Adopted Name (USAN).

United States Adopted Names

USAN Council nominations

The USAN Council is comprised of a group of 5 volunteers nominated to the Council based on relevant knowledge, experience and interest in pharmacology or medicinal chemistry, with medical practical experience desirable.

United States Adopted Names

USAN application forms

Find forms for base and modified forms of a compound, for single entity, modified salt form, revision to an adopted USAN, contact lens materials and biologics.

United States Adopted Names

United States Adopted Names approved stems

Review a list of USAN Council-approved stems and which chemical and/or pharmacologic parameters have been established.

United States Adopted Names

USAN Council

Learn about the council that is responsible for developing simple, informative generic drug names, who they are, how they operate and the issues they face.

Woman reading a prescription container

Patient Support & Advocacy

This is how generic drugs get their names

There’s a formula behind those funny names. Foremost, it’s meant to eliminate confusion and improve patient safety.

United States Adopted Names

Synthetic or Bio-engineered Receptor Protein Nomenclature

During the 67th INN Consultation, a discussion occurred on the future challenge of naming non-antibody scaffold (engineered) proteins in clinical use. It was suggested that during the 68th INN Consultation a new suffix for these types of proteins be evaluated.

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