Basic Drug Pipeline Data

Drugs in development may be named in a variety of ways; indeed, a single drug will commonly have six or more synonyms. The drug/product names incorporated into pipeline directories are one of the richest sources for learning drug synonyms or nomenclature.

Options typically include: generic or non-proprietary names (USAN, INN, BAN, etc.), brand names, laboratory codes, CAS^® Registry Numbers, chemical names, chemical structures, and chemical formulas.

The sample excerpt (Figure 3) from Pharmaprojects (Dialog File 128) illustrates the various ways in which a drug name and its synonyms may be presented.

Figure 3: Excerpt from Pharmaprojects Record

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DIALOG(R)File 128: PHARMAPROJECTS
(c) 2007 INFORMA UK LTD. All rights reserved.

0030985        ** Image available **
Drug Name:     vatalanib
World Status:  Phase III Clinical Trial
Pharma Status: Active
Synonyms:      CGP-79787
               CGP-79787D
               PTK-787
               PTK/ZK
               VEGF-TK1
               ZK-222584
Originator:    Novartis (Switzerland) [Phase III Clinical Trial]
Licensee:      Bayer  (Germany) [Phase III Clinical Trial]
New Entity:    Yes

CHEMICAL DATA


Origin:        Code    Description
               CH-SY   Chemical, synthetic


CAS Reg. No:   212141-54-3
Rot. Bonds:    4
Mol. Formula:  C20H15CLN4


Hydrogen Bond Donors: 1     Hydrogen Bond Acceptors: 4
Mol. Weight:   346.82       AlogP: 4.46


Chemical Name: 
               N-(4-Chlorophenyl)-4-(pyridin-4-ylmethyl)phthalazin-1-amine


STRUCTURE

The following table provides more detail about each of the basic pipeline elements.

Figure 4: Basic Pipeline Elements

Name	Description
DRUG NAME vatalanib	Usually presented as a generic drug name as adopted by a government or international body, such as U.S. Adopted Name (USAN), etc. Generic names begin with a lower case letter, whereas trade or brand names are capitalized. If a generic name has yet to be adopted for a drug, a lab code will often appear.
LAB CODE CGP-79787 CGP-79787D PTK-787 PTK/ZK VEGF-TK1 ZK-222584	A combination of initial letters followed by a series of 1 to 6 numbers. The lab code is usually assigned by a research laboratory when a compound is first undergoing evaluation. Lab codes often appear as part of a "SYNONYMS" section, as in this example.
TRADE/BRAND NAME Not yet assigned	Product name assigned by a company planning to market a drug. Trade names are often not given until later in the drug development process.
CHEMICAL NAME N-(4-Chlorophenyl)- 4-(pyridin-4-ylmethyl) phthalazin-1-amine	Chemical formula for the compound represented in words or in Hill Order.
CAS^® REGISTRY NUMBER 212141-54-3	Unique chemical identification number assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service. The Registry Number consists of three numbers separated by hyphens.
CHEMICAL STRUCTURE	Unique image of a chemical compound. This provides a clear presentation of the compound in development. Searching on the chemical structure affords the most accurate way of retrieving records of a particular structure.

Go to the next page to learn more about basic Drug Pipeline directory data.

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