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October 23, 2006
Experimental Compound Codes
Posted by Derek
Drug candidates go by many different names during their lifetimes. At first, they're known to the chemists on the project by tags like "Jane's analog" or "the one with the methyl group". As time goes on, though, they tend to be known more by their official compound number. Every drug company has some sort of system for this; in almost all cases it's a letter-number combination that identifies the company and the compound. But there's no standard. You're free to assign different letters to different therapeutic areas or research sites if that sounds good, or dole out different blocks of numbers for different purposes instead of running them in sequence.
Biologists, in my experience, tend to use these numbers earlier in the course of a research project than the chemists do. That's surely because we have more of a structural handle to remember the compounds by ("that piperazine with the chiral isopropyl coming off it"). This leads to scenes in project meetings where the biologists ask if there's any more 5650, and the chemists look blank, and then the chemists ask if there's any data on the homopiperidine, and the biologists look blank. Likely as not, they're talking about the same compound.
A quick look around Google didn't turn up any guide to the various compound codes in use, so I thought I'd provide one. (No doubt this post will start a small, steady Google-search tap dripping in my traffic statistics). Some of these represent companies that are no longer with us under those names, but the codes live on in development candidates, literature compounds, and catalog reagents. I've tried in include later merger/buyout partners in parentheses. This is a fairly comprehensive list (do you know anyone who can name all the drug companies in Japan? Me neither), but I'd be glad to add others as suggested - I'm sure that there are plenty of smaller companies I've left out.
A small "x" represents a variable letter - Novartis, in particular, seems to have appropriated great swaths of the alphabet for its internal use, although I think that some of their compounds get renumbered when they're ready for the spotlight. So, here goes:
A Abbott
AA Auxilium
ABI Abraxis
ABIO Abiogen
ABT Abbott
ABX Abgenix
ACP Acadia
ADL Adolor
ADX Addex
AG Agouron (Pfizer)
Axx Novartis
AGI AtheroGenics
ALTU Altus
AMG Amgen
AN Anacor
AN Access
APD Arena
ARC Archemix
ARC ArQule
AS Antisoma
AT Altea
ATG Athenagen
AVE (Sanofi) Aventis
AZx Astra-Zeneca
BAL Basilea
BAY Bayer
BCX Biocryst
BIxx Boehringer Ingleheim
BLX Biolex
BMS Bristol-Meyers Squibb
BVT Biovitrum
C Merck
C Carbogen (Ubichem)
CEP Cephalon
CERE Ceregene
CGT Corgentech
CHIR Chiron
CHR Chroma
CI Pfizer
CKD Chong Kun Dang
CJC ConjuChem
COL Collagenex
CM CarboMed
CP Pfizer
CS Sankyo
CX Cortex
CYC Cyclacel
DA Dong-A
DG deCODE
DIO Diobex
DOV DOV
DP D-Pharm
DRF Dr. Reddy's
E Eisai
ECO Ecopia
ELB Elbion
EM Erimos
EMR Merck KgaA
EP Enanta
EV Evolutech
EVT Evotech
EZ Enzon
F Pierre Fabre
Fxx Novartis
FK Fujisawa
G Genentech
GENZ Genzyme
GRD Glenmark
GS Gilead
GW GlaxoWellcome
HMR Hoechst/Marion/Roussel (Aventis)
IC Icos (Lilly)
ICA Icagen
IMC Imclone
INCB Incyte
INGN Introgen
INSM Insmed
IMX Inex
ISIS ISIS
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
JTx Japan Tobacco
K Kowa
KB Karo Bio
KI Kos
KOS Kosan
KRH Kureha
KRN Kirin
KRP Kyorin
KU Kudos
Kux Kissei
L Merck
LGD Ligand
KRP Kyorin
LU Lundbeck
LY Lilly
MB Metabasis
MBX Metabolix
MDX Medarex
MEDI Medimmune
MEM Memory
MEN Menarini
MK Merck (in development)
MLN Millennium
MP Mitsubishi
MPC Myriad
MS Mitsui
MV Miravant
N Nisshin
ND Neuro3D
NBI Neurocrine
NCX NicOX
NGD Neurogen
NN Novo Nordisk
NP Nascent
NS NeuroSearch
NSC Nippon Shinyaku
NT Neurotech
NVP Novartis
ON Onconova
ONO Ono
OPC Otsuka
OPT Optimer
ORG Organon
ORM Orion
OSI OSI
OT Othera
OX Orexo
PAC Pacific
PCK Procyon
PD Parke-Davis (Pfizer)
PEP Peplin
PH Pherin
PHA Pharmacia (Pfizer)
PHX Phenomix
PRX Predix
PV Provectus
PW Penwest
PX Pharmexa
R Roche
RG Repligen
RGH Gedeon Richter
RO Roche
RWJ Johnson & Johnson
S Servier
S Shionogi
SB (Glaxo)SmithKline
SCH Schering-Plough
SEP Sepracor
SGN Seattle Genetics
SGS Saegis
SK Sanwa
SKF (Glaxo)SmithKline
SLV Solvay
SM Sumitomo
SNS Sunesis
SNY Sanofi(Aventis)
SOU Sosei
SPD Shire
SRT Sirtris
SSR Sanofi(Aventis)
ST Sigma-Tau
STA Synta
STZ Sterix
SU Sugen (Pfizer)
T Taisho
T Tularik (Amgen)
TA Tanabe
TAS Taiho
TH Theratechnologies
TAK Takeda
TF Taiho
TJN Tsumura
TNP Takeda-Abbott
TNX Tanox
TOS Toko
TPI Tapestry
TS Taisho
TSU Taiho
V Purdue Pharma
V Vernalis
VB Viventia
Vxx Novartis
VX Vertex
WAY Wyeth
WY Wyeth
WYE Wyeth
Xxx Novartis
XL Exelixis
XRP Sanofi-Aventis
YKP S-K Biopharmaceuticals
YM Yamanouchi
ZD (Astra)Zeneca
ZK Schering AG
Comments (34)
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1. Cryptic Ned on October 23, 2006 9:29 PM writes...
Of course, the only compound code a layman like me has seen in the news is not here, because the makers of TGN1412 have...gone bankrupt?
Permalink to Comment2. BayArea on October 23, 2006 10:12 PM writes...
G = Genentech
Permalink to CommentGS = Gilead
3. KonradK on October 23, 2006 10:53 PM writes...
SC = Searle Compound
L = MRL (Merck Research Labs) as in MSD (Merck, Sharp, and Dohme)
As I recall, there is a list of "Code Letters Used by Companies for Experimental Substances" included as an appendix in the Merck Index.
Permalink to Comment4. Jose on October 23, 2006 11:45 PM writes...
How sad to see that IC is already listed as ICOS (Lilly).
Permalink to Comment5. bcpmoon on October 24, 2006 2:28 AM writes...
FWIW...
C = Carbogen (Switzerland, now Ubichem)
Permalink to Comment6. KonradK on October 24, 2006 2:55 AM writes...
OK, now that I have my trusty Merck Index Twelfth Edition in front of me, pages Misc-12 to Misc-15 contain a very comprehensive list of company codes.
But your right Derek, before your posted your latest blog, there didn't seem to be a free on-line web list available.
Permalink to Comment7. Alastair on October 24, 2006 3:43 AM writes...
Has anyone looked at how successful drugs are based on the number of letters from x,y, and z there are in the name?
The use of these letters seems far more marked in drug names, presumably to avoid creating a drug name that actually means something (obnoxious or offensive) in a foreign language.
Permalink to Comment8. A-non-y-mous on October 24, 2006 7:01 AM writes...
"Has anyone looked at how successful drugs are based on the number of letters from x,y, and z there are in the name?"
No, but if you hurry you could write a paper entitled "A linguistic model for the rational naming of drug candidates." It's probably good for a Nature submission.
Permalink to Comment9. Jim on October 24, 2006 8:39 AM writes...
I like this one:
V = Purdue Pharma. Try and figure that out.
Permalink to Comment10. KonradK on October 24, 2006 8:52 AM writes...
"V = Purdue Pharma. Try and figure that out."
Especially after Purdue lost to Wisconsin last Saturday ;-)
Permalink to Comment11. Derek Lowe on October 24, 2006 9:13 AM writes...
I'm incorporating suggestions already, plus several others I've come across. Journals like "Drugs of the Future" and the "Expert Opinion" series are good sources of codes, many from rather obscure companies.
Permalink to Comment12. Chemist of Sorts on October 24, 2006 9:55 AM writes...
Derek,
Permalink to CommentCan you distinguish which numbers are generic compound bank numbers versus which numbers are for development compounds in your list? For example, for Merck, L is generic, MK in development (or was).
13. Derek Lowe on October 24, 2006 9:58 AM writes...
That's a good idea, and I'll note it in the list. I believe that "NVP" is the corresponding Novartis designation. Not every company does that, though - some of them hang with the original number all the way through.
Permalink to Comment14. MolecularGeek on October 24, 2006 10:00 AM writes...
To add to the list:
TBC = Encysive Pharmaceuticals (was Texas Biotechnology Corporation)
As a side note, some companies truncate their compound numbers when they start talking about their NCEs in public, or they make it a clinical candidate internally. For example, VX-497 or VX-853 ( I have it on good authority that Vertex has more than 1000 compounds in their corporate registry 8-). Does anyone have any war stories about when this happens, how the short numbers are selected, and (most titilating) anecdotes about how this transition made life strange for people in the labs?
MG
Permalink to Comment15. BMagneton on October 24, 2006 10:48 AM writes...
VX = Vertex
A "V" that makes a bit more sense than Purdue.
Also, I think there's market research out there that the general public thinks that names with Q, V, X, Y, and Z are more "modern" or "scientific", so the plethora of drug names with those letters is a, *cough* business decision.
Permalink to Comment16. LNT on October 24, 2006 1:08 PM writes...
Add this to your list:
WAY and WYE -- Wyeth
WY (that you list) was used quite a few years ago.
Permalink to Comment17. Alastair on October 24, 2006 1:17 PM writes...
Medarex use MDX,
Chroma Therapeutics CHR
British Biotech used to use BB
Vernalis use V
Permalink to Comment18. Mike on October 24, 2006 1:37 PM writes...
Menarini (Italy) use MEN
Permalink to Comment19. Bootsy on October 24, 2006 7:44 PM writes...
Novartis appears to have multiple codes because of the way they number. All compounds are NVP-xxx###-[salt code]-[batch number]. So, NVP is the standard prefix. However, in practice, people just use the xxx### to refer to compounds, including in publications and talks. Thus you see Lxx### and Axx### and others as well. To confuse the issue, compounds from before the merger use their old Ciba and Sandoz numbers.
Permalink to Comment20. BCP on October 24, 2006 9:23 PM writes...
UK = Pfizer UK
Permalink to CommentGR = Glaxo pre-merger frenzy
AH = Glaxo way back when (allen + hanburys)
ICI = AZ of old (that used to be obvious)
21. Derek on October 25, 2006 12:53 PM writes...
NPS NPS Pharmaceuticals
Permalink to CommentBL Bristol Laboratories (before Bristol-Myers)
BMY Bristol Myers (Befor Bristol-Myers Squibb)
MJ Mead Johnson (Before Bristol Myers)
SQ Squibb (before BMS)
R 3M Pharmaceuticals (Riker Labs)
22. Spike on October 25, 2006 1:13 PM writes...
TL = Taxolog
Permalink to Comment23. NJBiologist on October 25, 2006 6:40 PM writes...
Isn't "SR" the former Sanofi Recherche (for example, SR 141,716A = rimonabant = the MIA Accomplia)?
Permalink to Comment24. Chris on October 27, 2006 7:21 AM writes...
Several companies change the designation dependent on the stage of development.
Merck "L" before entering safety studies, MK after completing safety.
I did hear that some companies have site specific codes
Permalink to Comment25. Michael on October 28, 2006 11:34 AM writes...
NOA = Novartis Agro (now Syngenta)
Permalink to CommentCGA = Ciba-Geigy
26. Tuck on October 29, 2006 12:47 PM writes...
There's MLN for Millenium. This is one of several compound codes that have an unfortunate homology to certain widely used abbreviations in medical literature. MLN also means Mesenteric Lymph Node. Thus if one puts the compound code into a search engine such as PubCrawler, one often gets hits that have nothing to do with the corresponding company. ArQule (ARQ) gets me lots of hits involving sheep scrapie and prion proteins. Acadia (ACP) gets me all sorts of things; the abbreviation means at least three different things. When the company doesn't have a wide variety of compounds in the pipe, this can be overcome. Acadia's compound of interest is the major metabolite of clozapine, desmethylclozapine. Putting those into PubCrawler helps. I haven't figuerd out a good work around for Millenium, though.
Cheers, Tuck
Permalink to Comment27. david lilienfeld on October 29, 2006 11:35 PM writes...
RB=Receptor BioLogix
Permalink to Comment28. Al on December 25, 2006 10:26 AM writes...
A new Pfizer compound code (PF )has emerged. The two letter prefix is followed by a absurdly long string of numbers. Any idea what the prefix stands for?
Permalink to Comment29. Martin H. Maurer on November 16, 2007 8:25 AM writes...
SY = SYGNIS
Permalink to CommentAX = Axaron
30. ppp on November 16, 2007 8:32 AM writes...
NW = Newron
Permalink to Comment31. of on February 28, 2008 12:30 PM writes...
some more for the list;
looks like the 676 tow-letter combinations are not enough, though (-:
AB: Ambit Biosciences (several), Abeille Pharma (AB-1001), Asahi Kasei (AB-47), Antibioticos SA (AB-400)
Permalink to CommentAS: Antisoma (several), Astralis (AS-210), Dainippon (AS-8112, AS-9705), Serono (several).
EMD: Merck KGaA
EML: Merck KGaA
FR: Fujisawa
RU: Roussel-Uclaf (Aventis; e.g. RU-486 !)
SC: 4SC AG (several), BMS (? SC-241)
TG: TaiGen, TargeGen, TissueGene, TransGene
WS: Fujisawa, Willmar Schwabe GmbH (WS-1442)
32. AA on November 6, 2009 7:33 AM writes...
ZA: Zambon (Italy)
Permalink to Comment33. JT on February 2, 2011 4:39 AM writes...
Does anyone know what the codes EX or EXBY stand for?
Permalink to Comment34. Kerry F on November 30, 2011 5:14 PM writes...
GF is Glaxo France. The original code for tadalafil is GF196960X.
Permalink to Comment