How Do You Pronounce That Drug?

By Kelly Young

File this under, In Case You Were Wondering. Reuters has a story about a new spate of drugs that begin with X and Z, like Xtandi and Zelboraf.

The FDA requires that new drugs have names that cannot be confused with existing drugs, to avoid pharmacy mix-ups. Pen strokes also play a role — the up-and-down strokes of X and Z are apparently more readable.

Thus, we get names like Xalkori, Zytiga, and the double-whammy Xeljanz, which is book-ended with an X and a Z.