Drug Names

Do you ever wonder how they come up with drug names?

Some seem to make sense - they're goofy versions of words that sort of explain what they do: lipitor, claritin, levitra...

But what about cialis, celebrex, zyrtec, xanax, paxil and countless others?

I saw an ad for a drug but it never said what it did. All the people were so happy. I want to be happy. Is that drug for me? How can I know if they don't say what problem the happy people had?

The job in the marketing dept of a pharmaceutical must be great!

--
"Let's call it... Maxophil"

"Nah, that will never sell. We want people to take our hair growth pill."

"You have any suggestions?"

"How about Rhomatin?"

"Rhomatin? That's a stupid name."

"Well, we could call it Zactomax. More Z's and X's make it cool."
--
Or do you think they have a wheel with a bunch of syllables? Maybe it's like those lottery balls.

"Hmm... our newest pain medication needs a name. Start the lotto machine!"

"First ball up is... Cyl-"

"Second ball up is... -my-"

"Third ball up is... -trix"

"The new name will be Cylmytrix. For all your pain needs, take Cylmytrix! We'll put tons of happy people in the ad and you'll just HAVE to take it."