Investigational Drugs in RxNorm

Since the RxNorm project began in late 2001, the focus has been to provide normalized names and codes for drugs that are sold in the United States. Over the years, we have been asked many times to add either foreign drugs or investigational drugs. We have repeatedly refused this request.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic. Because of this significant public health concern, we have reexamined the scope of RxNorm. After consulting with several experts in the drug information community, we have decided to add SELECT investigational drugs to RxNorm if they are being used to treat or prevent diseases relating to pandemics.

The April 2020 release of RxNorm will contain the ingredient (IN): remdesivir (RXCUI 2284718), and the Semantic Clinical Drug (SCD): remdesivir 100 MG Injection (RXCUI 2284960).

We feel that creating stable RXCUIs and names at this point in time will help to minimize reconciliation with drug information data if these drugs are approved. Also, our goal is to facilitate interoperability for patients' medication history information during transitions of care. We understand that remdesivir and other products used to treat or prevent COVID-19 are investigational and may be found to be ineffective.

COVID-19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation.

Get the latest public health information from CDC: https://www.coronavirus.gov

Get the latest research information from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus