Brand Institute, the global leader in pharmaceutical and healthcare-related name development, is proud to announce its role in naming Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine: COMIRNATY® (koe mir' na tee). The name was first announced by Swiss regulatory authority, Swissmedic. Shortly after, it was included in the conditional marketing authorization published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The approval of the brand name by other global regulatory agencies will follow their respective guidelines, policies, and procedures.

In a joint press release, BioNTech and Pfizer commented on the vaccine's brand name, "The vaccine will be marketed in the EU under the brand name COMIRNATY®, which represents a combination of the terms COVID-19, mRNA, community, and immunity, to highlight the first authorization of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, as well as the joint global efforts that made this achievement possible with unprecedented rigor and efficiency, and with safety at the forefront, during this global pandemic."

The COVID-19 vaccine's proposed nonproprietary name (pINN), tozinameran (toe zi na' mer an), was also developed by Brand Institute and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Drug Safety Institute. The "proposed" status of the name indicates the standard 4-month comment period before becoming a recommended INN (rINN). The -meran suffix indicates that this is an mRNA vaccine.

"The entire Brand Institute and Drug Safety Institute team is honored to have partnered with two incredible companies, Pfizer and BioNTech, on the development of their COVID-19 vaccine's brand name, COMIRNATY®, and nonproprietary (p-INN) name, tozinameran," said Brand Institute's Chairman and CEO, James L. Dettore. "Naming a product that will have such a profound global impact is humbling, and an opportunity for which we are truly grateful."

With a portfolio of over 3,300 marketed healthcare names for close to 950 clients, Brand Institute is the global leader in pharmaceutical and healthcare-related name development. The company partners on over 75% of pharmaceutical brand and nonproprietary name approvals globally. Drug Safety Institute is comprised of former naming regulatory officials from global government health agencies, including FDA, EMA, Health Canada, American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

These regulatory experts co-authored the name review guidelines while with their respective agencies, with many responsible for ultimately approving (or rejecting) brand name applications. Now working for a private company, these professionals provide Brand Institute's clients with industry-leading guidance pertaining to drug name safety (i.e., preventing medication errors), packaging, and labeling.