The problem of medication mix-ups begins with the sheer number of drugs on the market. Bruce Lambert, an assistant professor of pharmacy administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says there are 100,000 potential pairings of drug names that could be confused. And with around 100 new drugs coming onto the market each year, the potential for mistakes keeps growing. Pitressin, a synthetic hormone sometimes used to control bleeding in the esophagus, and Pitocin, used to induce labor in pregnant women. Amiodarane, an anti-arrhythmic, and Amrinone, used in congestive heart failure.
Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money selecting and test-marketing drug names.
But critics of the industry say the companies pay far less attention to making sure names won't be confused. But drug maker Searle changed the name at the urging of the FDA, to avoid confusion with the antidepressant, Celexa. But in the view of Michael Cohen, a pharmacist who directs the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medical Practices, the new name was not much safer. He pushed unsuccessfully for another change. Gleason defends the company's decision to go with the name Celebrex despite the warnings of problems.