The X to Z of proprietary names

When I started out in pharmacy I was intrigued by the brand names bestowed on prescription products. In general the names appeared to be nondescript collections of syllables randomly plucked from the air.

Most proprietary names, for some reason, were three-syllable words, and the few that did not appear completely arbitrary were usually constructed from two supposedly meaningful syllables yoked together by a random vowel.

Frequently a syllable from the drug’s generic name would be linked to another that vaguely indicated some aspect of the drug’s use, such as medical condition, route of administration or type of formulation. For example, two rival topical hydrocortisone products were given the names Cortoderm and Dermacort.

I was not surprised to learn from a former industrial pharmacist that his company had held brainstorming sessions to devise all-purpose names to apply to any product that managed to emerge from the pipeline. My informant was proud to have suggested Mycivin as a provisional name for an antibiotic. The company registered the name and years later applied it to a lincomycin product.

But such a casual approach to name-giving is long past. Nowadays companies pay vast sums to branding specialists, and the current trend among these self-appointed experts is to suggest short zappy names. These names frequently contain the consonants X or Z or both.

Think Xanax, Xifaxan, Xyval, Zadaxin, Zantac, Zagam, Zevalin, Zocor, Zofran, Zoladex, Zomig, Zyprexa, Zyvox.

Why? Apparently these letters tend to be associated with high technology and innovation and are thought to convey a subliminal indication of power. They are also deemed to have a strong impact in print. Other favoured consonants include D and a hard C, while the most popular vowels are A, O and Y.

All these elements harden the sound of the product name. According to one branding expert: “The harder the tonality of the name, the more efficacious the product in the mind of the physician and the end user.”

I do hope he is wrong. But I fear that he is right, and that both doctors and patients are swayed arbitrarily by the sound of the brand name when picking their product of preference.