Medicinal products

A medicinal product is any substance or composition that is presented as having properties that enable it to cure or prevent diseases in humans and animals. Any substance or composition that can be administered to humans or animals in order to establish a medical diagnosis, or to restore, correct or modify their organic functions, is also considered to be a medicinal product.

Put simply, it is a 'well-identified substance for preventing or curing a disease'.

Medicinal products' active ingredients

Medicinal products contain at least one active substance, which can be designated by:

• an international non-proprietary name (INN) or generic name, which is the universal name used worldwide;
• a trade name, which is the name given to the medicinal product by the pharmaceutical company, the brand;
• a scientific name, which is the chemical name of the active ingredient (chemical formula).

To ensure that the use of medicinal products meets actual health needs, the Minister of Health has introduced medicinal product prevention and information campaigns.