The United States Adopted Names Council
Web Application for USAN
Empowering USAN's vital mission through technology, fostering secure, real-time collaboration between pharmaceutical companies, USAN and creative agencies to streamline the approval process for naming prescription drugs and accelerating life-saving drugs to market.
Background
The United States Adopted Names (USAN) program, established in 1961, stands as the nation's authority on generic drug naming. Overseeing thousands of drug names, USAN champions clarity and global alignment in pharmaceutical identification. Their process begins with company submissions and progresses through meticulous staff reviews, council deliberations with FDA and international input, and ultimately WHO approval. This rigorous journey ensures each name meets excruciating standards, shaping the language of medicine and fostering clear communication across global healthcare systems.
The Challenge
The pharmaceutical drug naming landscape has evolved significantly in recent years, with stakeholders seeking efficiency and transparency in the approval process. Gone are the days of slow, manual workflows and time-consuming communication channels that hinder the introduction of life-saving therapies. USAN needed to meet businesses and agencies where they are at and demonstrate their work and impact with clarity and precision. But how could they get prescription drugs to market when their work involved complex regulatory standards, intricate naming conventions, and a vast network of global partners?
The Approach
The pharmaceutical drug naming landscape has evolved significantly in recent years, with stakeholders seeking efficiency and transparency in the approval process. Gone are the days of slow, manual workflows and time-consuming communication channels that hinder the introduction of life-saving therapies. USAN needed to meet businesses and agencies where they are at and demonstrate their work and impact with clarity and precision. But how could they get prescription drugs to market when their work involved complex regulatory standards, intricate naming conventions, and a vast network of global partners?
The Opportunity
USAN must clearly and confidently demonstrate to stakeholders, including pharmaceutical companies, regulatory bodies, and healthcare professionals, the critical role it plays in ensuring clarity and safety in drug naming. By streamlining the approval process and fostering global alignment, USAN enhances the integrity of pharmaceutical communication, making it an indispensable part of the healthcare landscape.
Focus on the User
Our team worked closely with USAN stakeholders to architect a role-driven system that mirrors the complexity of drug nomenclature governance. We established five distinct user roles – USAN Administrator, Council Negotiator, Pharma Applicant, Organization Admin, Document Contributor – each with tailored permissions reflecting their unique responsibilities in the approval lifecycle.
Navigation Ease
The USAN web application’s navigation system uses Material UI’s intuitive components to mirror the precision of drug nomenclature workflows. A fixed sidebar with role-specific menus ensures USAN staff, applicants, and global partners always see relevant actions—from submission tracking to negotiator audits. On Mobile those wayfinding menus turn into accordions so the user can see at a glance what steps are left and expand if they want to get into work.
Professional Branding
The interface embodies USAN's core provisions through a thoughtful visual language. We brightened USAN's logo orange for primary elements, balancing it with different shades of AMA's blue for a harmonious, modern palette. Typography adheres to AMA's system, using Kepler for body text and Myriad Pro for headers, reflecting the blend of precision and accessibility in USAN's work. Material UI's design system adds subtle depth, enhancing usability while maintaining a clean, professional look. This design approach bridges established pharmaceutical practices with contemporary drug development, communicating USAN's pivotal role in the industry.
Responsive Design
Built on Material UI’s 12-column grid, the app adapts seamlessly from FDA reviewers’ desktops to pharma reps’ tablets. Breakpoints prioritize core functions: approval dashboards condense into cards on mobile, while negotiation tools expand into multi-pane layouts on larger screens. The color palette ensures readability across devices, with typography scaling for clarity on mobile devices.
Common patterns in structure
A modular architecture organizes workflows into reusable Material UI components—submission wizards, trademark checkers, alignment tools. Each module follows USAN’s four-stage approval process. The grid system creates breathing room for complex forms while maintaining vertical rhythm through 8px spacing units
Complex Forms
The submission workflow leverages Material UI's form controls, enhanced with USAN-specific validators. Error messages appear in standard red, while active fields are highlighted in USAN's signature orange, guiding users through complex inputs. Each section includes clear help text and instructions, ensuring applicants understand requirements. A dedicated document upload page serves as a visual checklist, streamlining the submission process. Conditional logic dynamically shows or hides fields based on prior answers. This intelligent form design not only improves data quality but also accelerates the naming process, aligning with USAN's commitment to efficiency in pharmaceutical innovation.
