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Figure 7: Medicinal Product showing membership of a structure-and-disposition grouping (ethanolamine derivative and histamine receptor antagonist)

Groups of Products based on Therapeutic Role

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Medicinal products can be collected together into groups based on the therapeutic role that they are designed to fulfil.  Roles are very context dependent and may change over time and with changing circumstances (including the culture and practice of healthcare).  Roles are therefore not definitional for medicinal products.  Therapeutic role is a broader concept than 'indication for use' of a medicine.  Indication may describe information such as the disease(s) that the product may be used in, the intended effect (prophylaxis, cure, symptom relief etc.), the role within an overall treatment regimen (first line, adjunctive etc.) and specific populations for use (e.g. in adults, in children) whereas therapeutic role describes the general condition that the product may be used to treat (e.g. Product acting as antidementia agent) or describes the general treatment effect of the product (e.g. Product acting as haemostatic).  Since therapeutic role is often closely associated with product formulation (targeting the therapeutic substance to the correct site of action), therapeutic roles may be assigned to Medicinal Product Form concepts and occasionally to Clinical Drug concepts; if all the products share a therapeutic role, it can be assigned at the higher MP level.

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