The Differences Between APO & NOVO

Patients who are prescribed medications are sometimes puzzled by what seem to be similar yet different names on the bottles. For example, someone who is prescribed the medication Metoprolol may one month receive pills marked “NOVO Metoprolol,” and another month receive pills marked “APO Metoprolol.” This may lead patients to wonder whether they are receiving different medications in different months.

Same Medications, Different Manufacturers

• The abbreviations AVO and NOVO signify different manufacturers, not different medications. A medication labeled, for example, APO naproxen, is the same generic medication as one labeled NOVO naproxen. They are both naproxen, one produced by one firm, one produced by another.

What Is Actually Different?

• While there should not be differences in the chemistry of the medications themselves there may well be differences in cost between two of the same generic medications from different manufacturers. Also availability from a given manufacturer may vary at different times because of many factors, which may lead to one manufacturer's medication being dispensed at one time, and another manufacturer's at another. The issue of comparative quality among generic medications is a thorny one, and must be settled on a case-by-case basis across medications; this would be a good issue to discuss with your physician.

APO

• APO is the abbreviation of Apotex, a Canadian pharmaceutical company that primarily produces generic drugs. Apotex currently produces over 260 different generic pharmaceuticals.

NOVO

• NOVO is the abbreviation of Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that produces several pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diabetes (such as insulin) and hemophilia. Novo Nordisk also produces pharmaceuticals for growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

Alternative Abbreviations

• The abbreviation found on a pill is not necessarily the only abbreviation used to indicate a given manufacturer. There are alternative abbreviations used, particularly in Canada, for pharmaceutical manufacturers. For example, Apotex can also be abbreviated “APX,” and Novo Nordisk Canada can also be abbreviated “NOO.”