22 – 25 October 2024
Health products policy and standards
Our team provides authoritative guidance and standards on quality, safety and efficacy of health products and supports countries to formulate evidence-based policies and ensure good practice throughout the value chain.
International Nonproprietary Names Programme and Classification of Medical Products
International Nonproprietary Names (INN)
International Nonproprietary Names (INN) facilitate the identification of pharmaceutical substances or active pharmaceutical ingredients. Each INN is a unique name that is globally recognized and is public property. A nonproprietary name is also known as a generic name.
Mandate
WHO has a constitutional mandate to "develop, establish and promote international standards with respect to biological, pharmaceutical and similar products".
The World Health Organization collaborates closely with INN experts and national nomenclature committees to select a single name of worldwide acceptability for each active substance that is to be marketed as a pharmaceutical. To avoid confusion, which could jeopardize the safety of patients, trade-marks should neither be derived from INNs nor contain common stems used in INNs. The selection and publication of INNs falls under the responsibility of the EMP/RHT/TSN team of the INN Programme.
Dr R. Balocco Mattavelli World Health Organization |
Online access to INN data
Publications
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1 April 2024
INN for Variant COVID-19 Vaccine Active Substances
Any change to the structure of a medicinal active substance will trigger a requirement for a new INN to be assigned. To highlight the close...
11 December 2023
INN Bio Review 2022
This document, first published on the website of the INN Programme in 2006, therefore presents an inventory of the policy decisions taken by the INN Expert...
-tug for “unmodified immunoglobulins”The suffix -tug is used for monospecific full-length immunoglobulins with unmodified constant...
Last INN Consultation Executive Summary
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18 January 2024
INN 77th Executive Summary
During the 77th INN Consultation, 252 INN requests were discussed, including:• 217 new INN requests, of which 146 were for biological substances•...
12 July 2023
INN 76th Executive Summary
During the 76th INN Consultation, a total of 271 INN requests was discussed, including:• 238 new INN requests, including 149 for biological substances•...
19 January 2023
INN 75th Executive Summary
During the 75th INN Consultation, a total of 259 INN requests was discussed, including:• 212 new INN requests, including 121 for biological substances•...
Last INN Recommended Lists
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25 March 2024
INN Recommended List 91
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection ofRecommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...
26 October 2023
INN Recommended List 90
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection ofRecommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...
30 March 2023
INN Recommended List 89
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection ofRecommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...
Last INN Proposed Lists
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29 February 2024
INN Proposed List 130
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection of Recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...
6 August 2023
INN Proposed List 129
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection of Recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...
19 January 2023
INN Proposed List 128
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with article 3 of the Procedure for the Selection of Recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical...