Interested parties can access the lists

of recommended INNs and the lists of

stems both in printed and electronic
form. The WHO - INN Programme web
page furthermore provides information
for applicants wishing to submit a WHO International Nonproprietary Names
request for an INN for a new for Pharmaceutical Substances
pharmaceutical substance (http://
www.who.int/medicines/edmtopics).

■ ■ ■

The INN Programme also offers an

Information
electronic information service via
MedNet that provides access to the leaflet for
INN database. In order to obtain
access, interested parties can connect
to http://mednet.who.int, subscribe to
Trademark
the online system and request access
to the MedNet INN service. Departments

An International Nonproprietary Name

(INN) identifies a pharmaceutical
substance or active pharmaceutical
For additional information ingredient by a unique name that is
it is possible to contact: globally recognized and is public property.
The system of recommended
The INN Programme International Nonproprietary Names was
initiated in 1950 by a World Health
Quality Assurance and Safety of Medicines
Department of Essential Drugs Assembly resolution (WHA 3.11), and
and Medicines Policy has been in operation since 1953. It is
World Health Organization aimed at providing health professionals
Avenue Appia 20 with a clear mechanism of identification
CH-1211 Geneva 27
for the safe prescription and dispensing
Switzerland
of medicines to patients, and to allow
e-mail: innprogramme@who.int
Internet: http://www.who.int/medicines/organization/qsm/ health professionals and scientists
activities/qualityassurance/inn/orginn.shtm
worldwide to communicate and exchange
information in an unambiguous manner. Property departments or pharma- proposed and recommended INNs
INNs have now been recommended for ceutical companies introduce a habitually includes the request that
nearly 8000 substances and are used proposed trademark for a new Member States take the necessary steps
widely by health professionals, drug pharmaceutical product. Better to prevent the acquisition of proprietary
regulatory bodies, scientists and the understanding of the purpose and use rights over INNs, including prohibiting the
pharmaceutical industry. INNs are of INNs may help in avoiding such registration of INNs as TMs.
available in all six official languages of situations that are in conflict with an
WHO (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, INN. ■ ■ ■
Russian and Spanish) and in Latin. They
are also translated into many other ■ ■ ■ The INNs for substances that are
languages for use at the national level pharmacologically related, are – as far
by regulatory authorities, as well as in The selection of new INNs necessitates as possible – selected in a manner which
reference books and in medical the use of appropriate safeguards to shows their pharmacological relationship
literature. avoid a conflict with established through the use of appropriate syllables
trademarks. When selecting new INNs, called stems. Such syllables or stems are
■ ■ ■ the INN Expert Group convened by usually placed in the INN as suffixes, but
WHO for this purpose generally rejects sometimes in the middle or beginning of
As noted above, INNs are available for any proposal that could result in a the INN as infixes or prefixes. In order
use by all for the sole purpose of conflict with known TMs. Selected to ensure that the use of such stems (in
uniquely identifying the corresponding names are published in a WHO the selection of INNs for new substances
pharmaceutical substance. In this periodical (“WHO Drug Information”) as belonging to the same group) is not
respect, WHO encourages proposed INNs before they are actually jeopardized, the World Health Assembly
manufacturers to use INNs in adopted as recommended INNs. (in its resolution WHA46.19) therefore
conjunction with their corporate name Interested parties are given a period also requested Member States to
to designate their products. of 4 months in which to raise an discourage the use as TMs of names
objection to a proposed INN. An derived from INNs, and in particular
■ ■ ■ objection may be based, for example, names that include established INN
on similarity between the proposed INN stems. This is especially important if the
Usually pharmaceutical preparations and a trademark in which the interested proposed TM includes an INN stem for
are also marketed by industry under party has proprietary rights. a different pharmacological group.
proprietary names or trademarks
■ ■ ■
(“TMs”). However, the existence of both ■ ■ ■
an INN (in which no party can claim In line with the above, the WHO
proprietary rights) and a (proprietary) To safeguard the proper use of INNs, Secretariat interacts with national
TM for the same pharmaceutical and in accordance with World Health trademark offices with a view to avoiding
substance sometimes leads to conflict. Assembly resolution WHA46.19, the problems arising from the registration
This may occur when a new INN is notice from the Director-General of of trademarks which are similar to or
selected, but also when Intellectual WHO to Member States of newly derived from INNs.