Source of International nonproprietary name

{{Infobox concept | name = International nonproprietary name | subtitle = Drug nomenclature | Abbreviation = INN | Assigned by = World Health Organization | Property = Public; not trademarkable | Structure = Random prefix plus a class stem }} An '''international nonproprietary name''' ('''INN''') is the unique generic name assigned to a pharmaceutical substance by the World Health Organization. It is public property, cannot be trademarked, and is intended to be usable in any language.{{r|who_inn}} INNs are constructed from a distinctive prefix, chosen to be pronounceable and unlike existing names, and a stem indicating pharmacological class. The stem is the informative part: '''-glutide''' denotes a GLP-1 analogue, and '''-tide''' more broadly denotes a peptide.{{r|who_inn}} The name of a substance is therefore not arbitrary. ''Semaglutide'', ''liraglutide'', ''dulaglutide'' and ''tirzepatide'' all carry information about what kind of molecule they are, which is the point of the system.{{r|who_inn}} == Stems relevant here == | Stem | Meaning | Examples | |---|---|---| | -tide | Peptide | Many | | -glutide | GLP-1 analogue | [[Semaglutide]], [[Liraglutide]], [[Dulaglutide]] | | -dutide | Dual or multi-receptor glucagon-family agonist | [[Survodutide]], [[Efinopegdutide]] | | -tirzepatide | Assigned individually | [[Tirzepatide]] | | -glipron | Non-peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist | [[Orforglipron]] | | -lintide | Amylin analogue | [[Cagrilintide]] | The distinction between ''-glutide'' and ''-dutide'' encodes the difference between a GLP-1 analogue and a multi-receptor glucagon-family agonist, which is a real pharmacological distinction rather than a naming convenience. See [[Dual incretin agonist]].{{r|who_inn}} Stems are extended and refined as classes proliferate, so a newly assigned name may use a stem that did not exist a decade earlier.{{r|who_inn}} == Relationship to trade and chemical names == A substance has one INN, potentially several trade names, and a systematic chemical name that is unambiguous and unusable in conversation. The INN sits between them: unique, public, and short enough to speak.{{r|who_inn}} Trade names are trademarks, differ between jurisdictions, and are chosen for marketing rather than for information. A trade name conveys nothing about pharmacological class by design, since a trademark resembling an INN stem would be refused. Development codes — LY3437943, BI 456906 — precede the INN and appear in the early literature. A compound may be discussed under a code, then an INN, then a trade name, and secondary sources do not always connect them. See [[Retatrutide]] and [[Survodutide]].{{r|who_inn}} == Practical use == For a reader trying to establish what a substance is, the INN is the most reliable identifier: it is unique, it is stable, and its stem places the compound in a class.{{r|who_inn}} For material sold outside licensed supply, a name on a label is an assertion like any other field. A vial labelled with an INN has been labelled; whether its contents correspond is an identity question answered by [[Mass spectrometry|mass determination]], not by the label.{{r|usp1503,aebersold2003}} See [[Counterfeit peptide]]. Names not on the INN list — bare development codes, laboratory abbreviations, or invented names — do not identify a substance uniquely and may be used for different compounds by different suppliers.{{r|reports}} == References == {{reflist}} <ref name="who_inn">World Health Organization, ''Guidance on the Use of International Nonproprietary Names (INNs) for Pharmaceutical Substances'' and the published INN stem list.</ref> <ref name="usp1503">United States Pharmacopeia, General Chapter <1503>, ''Quality Attributes of Synthetic Peptide Drug Substances''.</ref> <ref name="reports">PeptidePedia Wiki community test-report tally, 2024–2026 (self-reported; see [[Project:Sourcing_guidelines]]).</ref> <ref name="aebersold2003">Aebersold R, Mann M. "Mass spectrometry-based proteomics." ''Nature'' 422(6928):198–207 (2003). PMID 12634793.</ref> == See also == * [[Semaglutide]] * [[Tirzepatide]] * [[Counterfeit peptide]] * [[Glossary of peptide terminology]] {{DEFAULTSORT:International nonproprietary name}} [[Category:Drug nomenclature]] [[Category:Compounds and pharmacology]] [[Category:Reference material]]