List of Clinical Research Topics - Drug Terminology

Drug Terminology

• Active ingredient – the substance in a drug that is pharmaceutically active
• Approved drug – a drug that has been approved for marketing by a regulatory body such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency
• Excipient – an inactive substance used as a carrier for the active ingredients of a drug
• Medicinal product – any substance or combination of substances used for treating or preventing disease in humans
• Off-label use – the practice of prescribing a drug for an indication for which the drug has not been approved
• Orphan drug – a drug used to treat a rare medical condition, or orphan disease
• Placebo – a sham treatment given to a control group in a clinical study
• Prescription drug – a licensed medicine that can only be obtained by prescription from a doctor
• Standard treatment – a currently available drug used in an active control clinical study