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."