The trademark battle brewing in Australia between Diageo, Spirits International, SPI Spirits, and the Russian government concerning ownership of the world-famous Stolichnaya mark for vodka.

Of the more interesting claims, the Russian government claims that the Stolichnaya was stolen from the government during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This should make for an interesting…and complicated…battle.

In news for the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. FDA has issued a Public Health Advisory concerning pharmaceutical brand names in the U.S. that may be confused with brand names found outside the U.S. The Public Health Advisory can be found at the FDA site at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/reports/confusingnames.html.

Part of the public advisory includes a list of drugs which the FDA considers potentially confusing. From the FDA advisory:

The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising healthcare professionals and consumers that filling U.S. prescriptions abroad may give patients the wrong active ingredient for treating their health condition. Some FDA-approved products have the same brand names as drug products that are marketed outside the U.S. but contain completely different active ingredients. In addition, 105 U.S. brand names are so similar to foreign brand names used for products with different active ingredients that patients who fill prescriptions abroad may inadvertently get the wrong drugs. Using the wrong drugs creates avoidable risks of adverse drug reactions with no health improvements. Consumers who fill U.S. prescriptions abroad, either when traveling or when shopping at foreign internet pharmacies, need to take caution because foreign drugs may use identical or potentially confusing brand names for products with different active ingredients.

Identical or very similar brand names, if associated with different active ingredients, may cause preventable pharmacy errors because approximately three quarters of all U.S. prescriptions are written using brand names rather than the scientific (or so-called “generic”) names of the active ingredients.1 To minimize confusion within the U.S., FDA has procedures in place to review brand names for use in the U.S. proposed by the manufacturer, relative to U.S. marketed product names. No international regulatory system exists, however, to ensure that new brand names are sufficiently different from existing ones elsewhere in the world to prevent undue confusion by pharmacists who are filling prescriptions from outside their country.

The FDA found 18 foreign drug products that use the same brand name as an FDA-approved medication but contain a different active ingredient. Table 1 lists the 18 foreign brand names, along with the active ingredients used in the U.S. and abroad, and the foreign country where the other active ingredient is marketed. The list excludes drug products available only in a hospital setting and drugs regulated as controlled substances in the U.S. This list focuses on prescription-only products, although similar and identical names exist among over-the-counter remedies.2 While some of the identical brand names have different active ingredients appropriate for the same health condition, these products should not be substituted without the guidance of a healthcare professional due to different doses, side effects, allergies, and interactions with other drugs.

FDA cautions that this list of identical brand names used for different drugs in other countries is probably not comprehensive and is subject to chang[e]. To develop this list, FDA used Chemindex(TM), a proprietary database from a data vendor named IMS Health to compare brand names for single-ingredient products marketed in the U.S. and 28 other industrialized countries in 2003.3 FDA also used Martindale Product Index, an online drug reference database to identify some foreign drug names and indications.

Some of the names included in the FDA’s list include:

U.S. Brand International Brand
Accupril Acepril
Albenza Avanza
Avandia Avanza
Allegra Allegro
Allegra D Allegro
Cedax Codex
Ceftin Cefiton
Cenestin Canesten
Depen Dipen
Doxil Doxal
Lotensin Latensin
Narcan Marcan
Triacet Triatec
Vistaril Vastarel
Zestril Nostril

[Note: This list is not conclusive.]

In news for the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. FDA has issued a Public Health Advisory concerning pharmaceutical brand names in the U.S. that may be confused with brand names found outside the U.S. The Public Health Advisory can be found at the FDA site at: target=”new”http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/reports/confusingnames.html.

Part of the public advisory includes a list of drugs which the FDA considers potentially confusing. From the FDA advisory:

The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising healthcare professionals and consumers that filling U.S. prescriptions abroad may give patients the wrong active ingredient for treating their health condition. Some FDA-approved products have the same brand names as drug products that are marketed outside the U.S. but contain completely different active ingredients. In addition, 105 U.S. brand names are so similar to foreign brand names used for products with different active ingredients that patients who fill prescriptions abroad may inadvertently get the wrong drugs. Using the wrong drugs creates avoidable risks of adverse drug reactions with no health improvements. Consumers who fill U.S. prescriptions abroad, either when traveling or when shopping at foreign internet pharmacies, need to take caution because foreign drugs may use identical or potentially confusing brand names for products with different active ingredients.

Identical or very similar brand names, if associated with different active ingredients, may cause preventable pharmacy errors because approximately three quarters of all U.S. prescriptions are written using brand names rather than the scientific (or so-called “generic”) names of the active ingredients.1 To minimize confusion within the U.S., FDA has procedures in place to review brand names for use in the U.S. proposed by the manufacturer, relative to U.S. marketed product names. No international regulatory system exists, however, to ensure that new brand names are sufficiently different from existing ones elsewhere in the world to prevent undue confusion by pharmacists who are filling prescriptions from outside their country.

The FDA found 18 foreign drug products that use the same brand name as an FDA-approved medication but contain a different active ingredient. Table 1 lists the 18 foreign brand names, along with the active ingredients used in the U.S. and abroad, and the foreign country where the other active ingredient is marketed. The list excludes drug products available only in a hospital setting and drugs regulated as controlled substances in the U.S. This list focuses on prescription-only products, although similar and identical names exist among over-the-counter remedies.2 While some of the identical brand names have different active ingredients appropriate for the same health condition, these products should not be substituted without the guidance of a healthcare professional due to different doses, side effects, allergies, and interactions with other drugs.

FDA cautions that this list of identical brand names used for different drugs in other countries is probably not comprehensive and is subject to chang[e]. To develop this list, FDA used Chemindex(TM), a proprietary database from a data vendor named IMS Health to compare brand names for single-ingredient products marketed in the U.S. and 28 other industrialized countries in 2003.3 FDA also used Martindale Product Index, an online drug reference database to identify some foreign drug names and indications.

Some of the names included in the FDA’s list include:

U.S. Brand International Brand
Accupril Acepril
Albenza Avanza
Avandia Avanza
Allegra Allegro
Allegra D Allegro
Cedax Codex
Ceftin Cefiton
Cenestin Canesten
Depen Dipen
Doxil Doxal
Lotensin Latensin
Narcan Marcan
Triacet Triatec
Vistaril Vastarel
Zestril Nostril

[Note: This list is not conclusive.]