Why the FDA’s Drug Naming Process Is All Screwed Up
By Jim Edwards, Placebo Effect on BNet,a CBS Interactive Company

“Pharmacists are mixing up Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s antipsychotic Risperdal (generic name risperidone) with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s drug for restless legs syndrome, Requip (ropinirole), in a way that shows how dysfunctional the FDA’s drug-naming policy is. The FDA reported 226 Risperdal/Requip errors, resulting in 16 adverse events, five hospitalizations and one death…”

“…the FDA allows different drugs to carry the same name and identical drugs to carry different names — a recipe for disaster…”

http://www.bnet.com/blog/drug-busine...tag=nl.rSINGLE