[mumblemumble]

I think that that strategy is roughly how drugs all end up with such odd names.

[Scandiravian]

I have friends who's job it is to come up with names for new drugs. It's actually a difficult task, since it needs to be easy to remember, create a slightly positive or neutral association with consumers, and most importantly, not be even close to a dirty/offensive word in any language used in a major market

It does result in some super silly names. So much so, that when I studied pharmaceutical sciences, we made a drinking game called "Pokémon or Drug"

[mathgeek]

> most importantly, not be even close to a dirty/offensive word in any language used in a major market

The most important reason is actually to make sure it doesn’t sound like any other named drug. Good article on that at https://www.ibtimes.com/why-do-prescription-drugs-have-such-...

> Patients can wind up taking the wrong prescription if a pharmacist mistakes Foradil, which treats bronchitis, for Toradol, which relieves pain from arthritis, or mixes up the blood-thinner Plavix with the antidepressant Paxil.