FDA Safety Page: Generic name confusion

By Charlie Hoppes, Carol Holquist, and Jerry Phillips A 19-year-old patient who ordinarily takes olanzapine is given 250 mg of clozapine in error. He begins to show signs of neuroleptic malignant syndrome and his blood pressure drops to 84/ 27mm Hg. What happened? The generic, or nonproprietary, names for the products were confused. The way drug products are given their generic names may have helped cause the confusion. The Food & Drug Administration requires that either the established (official) name or, in the absence of an official name, the common or usual name appears o­n labels and labeling of a drug product. This name, loosely referred to as the generic name, must accompany the proprietary (brand) name if there is o­ne.



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