Prozac

Prozac is, in addition to being the most famous prescription drug on the planet, an excellent example of the new method of naming pharmaceutical products.

There was a time when a physician prescribing an antidepressant for a patient would simply have scrawled the drug’s technical name — in the case of Prozac, the tongue-twisting “fluoxetine” — on a prescription pad. In the unlikely event that the patient could actually read the name, it would probably be meaningless to them.

But that was before drugs became consumer products, advertised (ad nauseam, many would say) directly to prospective patients on television and in glossy magazine ads. To catch the eyes of customers, rather than those of their doctors, pharmaceutical companies in the early 1990s began to name their drugs using the same linguistic principles used to name cars, beers and laundry detergents. The new generation of drug names thus has absolutely nothing to do with the clinical properties of the drug itself and everything to do with the patient’s expectation of a quick and effective solution to a problem.

In the case of Prozac, the connotation is powerful action (from the strong “pro” beginning, invoking a “positive” image) coupled with speed (the “z” sound), ending with the solid, powerful “ac” suggesting “action” and providing a firm, punchy ending to the name. If Prozac weren’t a drug, it would be a good name for a gasoline.

February 28, 2008 | Filed Under Drugs and Cosmetics 

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