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Generic Prescription Drug Pronunciation Guide

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

As prescription drugs proliferate, so do their weird and seemingly unpronounceable names. New drug brand names are bad enough, but some of the newer generic drug names are real enigmas to pronounce.

For example, how do you pronounce drug names such as “Abciximab” or “Ixabepilone” or “Pioglitazone” or “Zafirlukast”? Is “Abciximab” pronounced as “aye-bee-cee-icks-mab” or what?

If you have a hearing loss, your chances of correctly hearing these names being pronounced by anyone is almost nil. That’s the bad news.

Now for the good news. You don’t have to try to come up with your own pronunciations and embarrass yourself in the process.

For your convenience (mine too), I have put up a web page that shows the proper pronunciations of more than 700 generic prescription drug names.

You can access it on the Center for Hearing Loss Help’s website, then click on the third link down the left side: “Generic Drug Pronunciation Guide”.

In case you are interested, you pronounce “Abciximab” as “ab-SIX-ih-mab”. “Ixabepilone” is pronounced “ex-ah-BEH-pill-own”. “Pioglitazone” comes out as “pie-oh-GLIT-ah-zohn” and “Zafirlukast” as “zah-FLUR-luh-kast”.

This pronunciation guide is largely based on pronunciations given in the 2010 Nursing Drug Handbook.

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Hearing Loss Research & Resources

Free Visor Cards

Download your free Visor Cards for hard of hearing or deaf people here.

Loop Systems

Loop your home or meeting room. Discover how you can hear wonderfully clear sound again when listening to the TV/radio, etc, or when listening to a speaker at a meeting.

Loop systems are one of the best-kept secrets in town. To learn more about Loop Systems and what they can do for you, click here.

Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How

If your ears ring, buzz, chirp, hiss, click or roar, you know just how annoying tinnitus can be. You do not have to put up with this racket for the rest of your life. This book teaches you many things you can do to help bring your tinnitus under your control so it no longer bothers you.

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Sounds Now Too Loud for You?

Hypersensitive to Sound front coverIf some (or all) normal sounds seem so loud they “blow the top of your head off”, or make you wince or jump, or cause you headaches or ear pain, or affect your balance, or result in fear or annoyance of sounds so you feel you have to avoid these sounds, this book is for you!

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Hearing Phantom Sounds?

When hard of hearing people begin hearing phantom voices or music, they immediately worry they are going crazy. It never crosses their minds that they are sane and are just experiencing Musical Ear syndrome.

To learn more about the strange phantom sounds of Musical Ear syndrome and what you can do about them, click here to read a comprehensive article about Musical Ear Syndrome.

Or get the book—Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

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Center for Hearing Loss Help

Neil G. Bauman, Ph.D.

1013 Ridgeway Drive, Lynden,
WA 98264-1057 USA

Email: neil@hearinglosshelp.com

Phone: 360-778-1266 (M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM PST)

© 2025 Center for Hearing Loss Help – Help for your hearing loss, tinnitus and other ear conditions

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [which also includes perfect hearing] through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 6:23]

"But know this, in the last days perilous times will come" [2 Timothy 3:1]. "For there will be famines, pestilences, and [severe] earthquakes in various places" [Matthew 24:7], "distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring"—tsunamis, hurricanes—Luke 21:25, but this is good news if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for "when these things begin to happen, lift up your heads [and rejoice] because your redemption draws near" [Luke 21:28].