Rx

Name Game

Laurie Kelley January 15, 2023

Companies put a lot of money into “branding,” which is the process of creating a unique identity for a company or product. Branding involves using text, names, colors, and graphics to forge an emotional attachment to potential consumers. The goal is to get consumers to recognize a company or product, and have some positive association with it, to improve the chances of selling goods or services.

Pharmacy Times says “Naming a new prescription drug is a long and complex process, costing upwards of $2.25 million.”

Ouch!

Branding comes from the ancient rite of marking cattle, so that each cattle would be recognized as belonging to a herd and a particular owner. Each owner had their own symbol, scorched into the animal’s hide.

Read a great article about its origin here.

In the bleeding disorders community, it’s very important for different factor manufacturers to have strong brands, as so many products seem the same. And yet, they each need some recognizable name for their function. Our newest therapy is the gene therapy for hemophilia B called Hemgenix. That’s an easy name to decipher. Hem=blood. Gen=gene. IX=B (for hemophilia B).

Have you ever thought about what the other factor names mean?


Advate: “Advanced factor VIII (eight)”

BeneFIX: Bene means well, and FIX is factor IX.

NovoSeven: Novo means new, and Seven refers to factor VII.

Jivi: it’s not obvious it’s for factor VIII. Jivi is the Hindi word for “life.”

As for the others, I’m not sure. What are you guesses? Afstyla, Alprolix, Esperoct, Idelvion?

Jupiter

One suffix I encountered for company names and was curious about was “Rx.” We all know it’s used for prescriptions but why? Rx is used in some pharmacy company names like DiRx Pharmacy. I’m guessing is means direct treatment? And GoodRx is easy to figure out.

According to the book Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? “R” is the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter, the patron of medicines. Rx is also an abbreviation of “recipe,” from the Latin recipere, to receive. R appeared on top of all prescriptions, denoting “to take”: directions then followed. Even the English word recipe originally referred to medical prescriptions. Over time the word was also used for cooking–not unusual, as many of the same herbs and spices in cooking were being used in prescriptions at the time!

Flavored medicine has been around longer than we think!

Origins of Rx

Laurie Kelley May 5, 2008


We finished up the latest issue of PEN, and for the feature I focused on branding and advertising by the pharmaceutical industry. While researching this topic, the importance of company and product names kept coming up. What a company calls itself or its products is extremely important for recognition. The new product “Xyntha” by Wyeth is causing a minor stir due in part to its very unusual and interesting name.

One suffix I encountered and was curious about was “Rx.” We all now it means “prescription” but why? Rx is used in the company names BioRx, PrecisionRx, and Med Pro Rx… all related to hemophilia services.

According to the book Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? “R” is the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter, the patron of medicines. Rx is also an abbreviation of “recipe,” from the Latin recipere, to receive. R appeared on top of all prescriptions, denoting “to take”: directions then followed. Even the English word recipe originally referred to medical prescriptions. Over time the word was also used for cooking–not unusual, as many of the same herbs and spices in cooking were being used in prescriptions at the time! I guess flavored medicine has been a round longer than we think!

Great Book I Just Read: Ultramarathon Man, by Dean Karnazes. After meeting with Steve Petty two weeks ago, just before he ran the Boston Marathon (and did very well!), I was inspired to read this marvelous book again. Dean Karnazes tells the story of how he came to be one of the top ultramarathoners, those obsessive runners who think nothing of running 15 miles to a marathon as a warm up and then run the marathon, and then “relax” by going windsurfing all afternoon! His story is amazing: running in 120 degree heat for 100 miles, shoes melting; running 199 miles, without stopping, to raise money for a dying girl’s treatment; running a marathon to the South Pole! This is a quick read, and may do for you what it did for me: inspire one to get up and get moving! Dean makes you feel as though nothing is impossible. Four stars.

HemaBlog Archives
Categories