Appendix III. Trade Names of Some Commonly Used Drugs

Throughout The Merck Manual of Geriatrics, generic (nonproprietary) names for drugs are used whenever possible. Most prescription drugs have trade names (also called proprietary, brand, or specialty names) to distinguish them as being produced and marketed by a particular manufacturer. In the USA, these names are usually registered as trademarks with the Patent Office, which confers certain legal rights with respect to their use. A trade name may be registered for a product containing a single active ingredient (with or without additives) or two or more active ingredients (combination drugs). A chemical substance marketed by several manufacturers may have several trade names. A drug may be marketed under different trade names in different countries.

Trade names are found in many publications and are used extensively in clinical medicine. For convenience, two tables are included. One lists alphabetically the generic names with their trade names for most drugs mentioned throughout The Merck Manual of Geriatrics, primarily those marketed in the USA. The other lists alphabetically the trade names with their generic name. The tables are not all-inclusive and do not include every trade name for each drug. A few drugs in the table are investigational and may subsequently be approved by the FDA. The inclusion of a drug does not indicate approval of its use for any indication, nor does it imply efficacy or safety of its action. The inclusion of a trade name in the table indicates neither endorsement nor preference by The Merck Manual of Geriatrics.