The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 272 No 7291 p364
20 March 2004

Society summary

An occasional feature, prepared in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards Directorate, to highlight problems and inquiries currently being handled

Law and Ethics Bulletin, 2001 to present
See also Good Practice Points, 2003 to present

Change of drug names from BANs to rINNs

List of name changes

From 30 June, all prescribers and dispensers will be required to use the Recommended International Non-proprietary Name (rINN) for medicinal products in cases where the British Approved Name (BAN) and rINN differ. The two exceptions to this are adrenaline and noradrenaline, for which the BANs (which is also the official name in the European Pharmacopoeia) should continue to be used rather than the rINNs (epinephrine and norepinephrine).

Until 30 June, it is recognised that situations may arise where a prescriber’s computer software has been updated to reflect the rINN while the pharmacy software still refers to the BAN, or vice versa. It is recommended that pharmacists use the rINN when labelling dispensed medicinal products but should ensure that patients are appropriately counselled to avoid confusion.

Pharmacists are also reminded of the importance of ensuring that any medication errors resulting from the switch are recorded and reported accordingly, through local and/or national reporting systems to allow common problem areas to be identified and addressed.

Marketing authorisation holders have until December to apply to change the name of an affected product to the rINN. At present there are no plans to impose a cut-off point after which stock using the former BAN may not be supplied. Therefore stock using the BAN should be exhausted in the normal course of business, with pharmacists ensuring that patients are appropriately counselled where the name on the packaging differs from the name on the dispensing label.

Information, including question-and-answer briefing material, is currently available on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (www.mhra.gov.uk). A professional letter about the name changes will shortly be issued to key health care professionals, including pharmacists. The MHRA is to produce a specimen leaflet for patients that will explain the changes. The leaflet will be made available to download from the agency’s website. Further enquires should be directed to the MHRA (e-mail info@mhra.gsi.gov.uk).