Post-market surveillance of medication errors showing that consumers confuse nonprescription drug brands with Rx drugs has prompted a draft guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration on developing OTC brand names.
Concerned By Confusion Over OTC Drug Brands, US FDA Offers Guidance On Developing Names
Extending an OTC brand name to a product with a different active ingredient and indication creates a margin for error in the marketplace, FDA says. Recommendations include best practices to help minimize name-related medication errors and a framework FDA uses in evaluating proposed propriety names.

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