International Nonproprietary Name

Overview

An International Nonproprietary Name (INN; also known as rINN, for recommended International Nonproprietary Name) is the official non-proprietary or generic name given to a pharmaceutical substance, as designated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The plethora of named proprietary preparations containing a given substance can lead to confusion about the identity of the active ingredient. INNs facilitate communication by providing a standard name for each substance. A similar role is played in chemistry by IUPAC names; however, these are less suited to common usage, being typically very long and unwieldy. WHO issues INN names in English, Latin, French, Russian, and Spanish; Arabic and Chinese versions, although not included in the original scheme, are now also being issued.

Example

INN:	Paracetamol
British Approved Name (BAN):	Paracetamol
United States Adopted Name (USAN):	Acetaminophen
Other generic names:	N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, APAP, p-Acetamidophenol, Acetamol, ...
Proprietary names:	Tylenol®, Panadol®, Panamax®, Perdolan®, Calpol®, Doliprane®, Tachipirina®, ben-u-ron®,Atasol®, and others
IUPAC name:	N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-acetamide

See also

• World Health Organization
• IUPAC nomenclature

External links

• INN information from the WHO
• INN stems and modifiers from the WHO (PDF)

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