Appendix III: Nomenclature of Biotechnology Products

Summary

In collaboration with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research division of the United States Food and Drug Administration and the International Nonproprietary Names Committee of the World Health Organization, the United States Adopted Names (USAN) council created specific guidelines for coining names for biological and recombinant products, including interferons, interleukins, growth hormones, colony-stimulating factors, cytokines, and monoclonal antibodies. Some of these identifiers are included as prefixes, suffixes, and infixes (internally located) within the name of a new molecular entity to signify a different class of biologic molecules. This appendix provides definition of these prefixes, suffixes, and infixes in coining biotechnology products.