I have always wondered why medicines for same diseases have different names...

It is strange to have so many different kinds of medicines for so many diseases. it's difficult to tell one from another sometimes. It makes me stop and think about who is in charge of giving all of these medicines their names? Where do they come up with them? So many companies have so many different types od medications. How do they know how to market them? And they wonder how we can get confused about taking medications ourselves?

I've read everybody's comments and find them all valid, but vandana7 have you considered that there are international guidelines and rules according to which these companies name and brand their products, just as the vehicle industry has it's own guidelines and rules, just as the food industry have their own guidelines and rules, etc. etc. As for costs incurred with brand name creation and marketing, I can guarante you that Ford has the same expenses and these expenses are always added to the products, irrespective if it's for a Ford's Mustang or Merck's Ziak. What's the difference between Adcock Ingram - headache medicine and Panado - Adcock Ingram / Spasmend - Adcock Ingram. Panado and Spasmend both contain parasetamol as their main ingredient but Spasmend also contains mefensien resutling in Spasmend being not just a pain killer but also a muscle relaxant. Thus one can not call both a headache medicine, you need to differentiate. Most medicines that are used for the same ailment are not always exactly the same when it comes to the composition, even when produced by the same company, so it just makes sense to brand name the medicine.

But the owners of those companies WANT their brand names to be in front...

Vannie, you know he will pop up eventually. Just wait for it. I think as there is such a vast market for all kinds of medicines, they need to stay ahead of each competitor. Brand name is what life is about. You pay for that name, not the medicine. Go herbal sweetie. It is much healthier. TATA.

Oh .. Your question sounds to me like why twins dont have same names.. lol

Hi vandana, how are you? why you use headache medicine, you find out the reason for the headache know, if you have got to use of these kind of medicine it may lead to other problems i feel. You leave the brand name, it may be the different kind of name but combination will be same. There are lot of side effects are there for this. My suggestion is better you try to do some yoga or meditation etc., they may give you mental peace and also you can get rid off from this headache.

I do know one reason we must have at least 2 companies selling the same medication under different names (brand); -Monopoly It is illegal in some places to be the only one selling a service or cornering the market. In some places the govornment will actually get into that business for that very reason.

hi vandana I guess each company wants to be the leader and for me what i am looking for is price and if I can get a generic brand that still has the same quality of medication I will go with the odd name one as opposed to Johnson and Johnson or any other leading brand. I know if I want to get my antihistamine Benadryl at a price I can afford I will buy Equate brand thats two thirds cheaper and the product is exactly the same quality and quantity so price shopping is what I do.any smart shopper for over the counter things like ibuprofen or Advil look for the generic names for the same product as you will get the same quality and quantity for half off at least.,

Hi vandana, Medicines for same diseases of different companies are different. But the genetical names of the medicines of same diseases are same. Doctors can recognise the medicines of same diseases by their genetical names which are printed in the packet of all medicines.

There are different names of the same thing because they are all made by different companies. And why would another company make the same thing? A couple reasons, actually. There is always a company who thinks they can do it better, cheaper or somehow sell more, so that's the main motivation but also, at least in the US, there is incentive for companies to create competitive brands. This keeps monopolies from forming, which are bad for the consumer if there is only one company that produces something. That would mean that no matter what they wanted to charge for it, or no matter how they decided to make it, consumers would have no other choices but to buy that product. Competitive products help keep companies honest.

its all depend on the composition... say there are more than ten nimesulide medicines.... but if u give a look then.. u will find that the composition of those medicines are not same. some where u will get nimesulide + peracetamol... somewhere diclophenac+ peracetamol... and so on.. so that there are deferent names of medicine. where as the quantity of them are also different.

Hi dear, Not only in the case of medicine. So many other things are there around with such problem. Companies are different and they will use the different names to their medicines. Even the prescription by the doctor also make a lots of problems with the chemist. Suppose, if we go to a chemist with the prescription by the doctor, he chemist is telling that the captioned medicine is not here, but you can get the same medicine by a different company. Normally, we won’t buy it. Also, if we buy, the if we show it to the doctor, he won't allow to give to the patient. So, there are so many factors for it. The medicine is known to the company and it represents a particular company. Basically, these terms and procedures are well aware to the doctors and the closely associated with the medicines. So, for us it is an issue but for the company, they know how to manage with it. Regards, Thank-s

I belive its because its made by differnet companies like galaxo smith cline etc also some things (like anti depressants) have differnt chemicals in them.. fluoxitine and citalapram do basically the same thing but are made differentlly