by Readge Pharma Consultants
PharmaNaming glossary
The pharmaceutical industry uses many terms and it is important for us as pharma naming professionals to understand the pharmaceutical language in order to that are common in medical terminology, in drugs, medicines, medical equipment, health conditions, medical associations etc. This pharmaceutical glossary is aimed at providing our visitors a comprehensive idea about the pharma world in terms of the commonly used pharmaceutical abbreviations, acronyms, and alphabetical arrangements of list of common medical terms.
API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient)
The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) is the part of any drug that is active. Some drugs, such as combination therapies, have multiple active ingredients to treat different diseases. While production of APIs has traditionally been done by the pharmaceutical companies themselves in their home countries, in recent years many corporations have opted to send manufacturing overseas to cut costs. This has caused significant changes to how these drugs are regulated, with more rigorous guidelines and inspections put into place.
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All drugs are made up of two core components: the API, which is the central ingredient, and the excipient, the substance inside the drug that helps deliver the medication to your system. Excipients are inactive substances, such as mineral oil, and not chemically active.
For instance, if you have a headache, acetaminophen is the active ingredient, and the liquid in the capsule is the excipient.