Grammatical formatting of trade names

Formatting of Trade Names in the Russian Federation

In the Russian Federation, an established practice for registering new medicinal products requires the creation of two completely interchangeable transcription equivalents.

Each drug receives an official name:

• In Russian (in Cyrillic).
• In Latin.

The main grammatical feature of the domestic Latin variant is that it strictly obeys the rules of classical grammar. Such a name always functions as a neuter noun belonging to the 2nd declension.

In the nominative singular (Nominativus singularis), it receives the standard ending -um. Examples of such drugs: Bercarolum (Bercarol), Rifampicinum (Rifampicin), Isadrinum (Isadrine).

When writing prescriptions or medical documents, the genitive singular (Genetivus singularis) is often required, where the ending -um predictably changes to -i:

• Asparcamum (Asparcam) — tabulettae Asparcami (Asparcam tablets).
• Dibazolum (Dibazol) — tabulettae Dibazoli (Dibazol tablets).

The presence of such a Latin doublet is not merely a tribute to academic tradition. It is extremely important for the international recognition of medicines in countries where the Latin alphabet, rather than the Cyrillic alphabet, is historically used.

Global Practice and the Influence of the English Language

The global pharmaceutical market has undergone significant changes in naming approaches. Until the mid-1960s, the global standard remained the use of Latin spelling while preserving strict Latin grammatical forms.

However, in the second half of the 20th century, against the backdrop of the rapidly growing role of the English language, leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe and the USA fundamentally changed their approach. They began formatting the names of new drugs according to English grammatical rules. Since the alphabet remained Latin, the words visually retained their familiar appearance, but the changes affected exclusively the endings.

The traditional Latin -um gave way to two new variants:

1. Silent -e ending (typical of English orthography). Examples: Pilocarpine, Bromhexine, Aminophylline.
2. Zero ending (the word ends in a consonant). Examples: Nistatin, Nootropil, Hexoral.

As a result of these historical processes, most modern trade names of foreign drugs lack standard Latin endings and do not decline according to Latin rules.

Strict Rule of Trademark Invariability

The most important principle when working with modern pharmaceutical brands is the strict inviolability of their form.

Any form of trade names and trademarks that has undergone the official state registration procedure must not be subjected to any modification. This means that a physician or pharmacist has no right to artificially add Latin endings to them, decline them by case, or modify their orthography.

In prescriptions and official texts, such names are reproduced exactly in the form in which they were patented by the manufacturing company. Examples of such invariable constructions include:

• Bioshpa — Bioshpa
• Thrombo ASS — Thrombo ASS
• No-spa — No-spa
• Carin-Fer — Carin-Fer
• Inhibace — Inhibace

Class and exam questions

What else to study on this topic

• Rules for generating transcription equivalents
• Declension of neuter nouns of the 2nd declension
• Historical stages in the development of pharmaceutical terminology
• Specifics of the zero ending and silent -e in nomenclature
• Legal status of registered trademarks

Other topics in the "Dosage Forms" section

Prepared by WhiteCoat Pro faculty in accordance with the medical school curriculum. For educational purposes only.