(a) The ingredient information required by section 502(e) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall appear together, without any intervening written, printed, or graphic matter, except the proprietary names of ingredients, which may be included with the listing of established names, and such statements that are specifically required for certain ingredients by the act or regulations in this chapter.

(b) The term ingredient applies to any substance in the drug, whether added to the formulation as a single substance or in admixture with other substances.

(c) The labeling of a drug may be misleading by reason (among other reasons) of:

(1) The order in which the names of the ingredients present in the drug appear in the labeling, or the relative prominence otherwise given such names.

(2) Failure to reveal the proportion of, or other fact with respect to, an ingredient present in such drug, when such proportion or other fact is material in the light of the representation that such ingredient is present in such drug.

(3) The employment of a fanciful proprietary name for a drug or ingredient in such a manner as to imply that the drug or ingredient has some unique effectiveness or composition when, in fact, the drug or ingredient is a common substance, the limitations of which are readily recognized when the drug or ingredient is listed by its established name.

(4) The featuring in the labeling of inert or inactive ingredients in a manner that creates an impression of value greater than their true functional role in the formulation.

(5) Designation of a drug or ingredient by a proprietary name that, because of similarity in spelling or pronunciation, may be confused with the proprietary name or the established name of a different drug or ingredient.

(d)

(1) If the drug is in tablet or capsule form or other unit dosage form, any statement of the quantity of an ingredient contained therein shall express the quantity of such ingredient in each such unit. If the drug is not in unit dosage form, any statement of the quantity of an ingredient contained therein shall express the amount of such ingredient in a specified unit of weight or measure of the drug, or the percentage of such ingredient in such drug. Such statements shall be in terms that are informative to licensed practitioners, in the case of a prescription drug, and to the layman, in the case of a nonprescription drug.

(2) A statement of the percentage of an ingredient in a drug shall, if the term percent is used without qualification, mean percent weight-in-weight, if the ingredient and the drug are both solids, or if the ingredient is a liquid and the drug is a solid; percent weight in volume at 68 °F. (20 °C.), if the ingredient is a solid and the drug is a liquid; and percent volume in volume at 68 °F. (20 °C.), if both the ingredient and the drug are liquids, except that alcohol shall be stated in terms of percent volume of absolute alcohol at 60 °F. (15.56 °C.).

(e) A derivative or preparation of a substance named in section 502(e) of the act is an article derived or prepared from such substance by any method, including actual or theoretical chemical action.

(f) If an ingredient is a derivative or preparation of a substance specifically named in section 502(e) of the act and the established name of such ingredient does not indicate that it is a derivative or preparation of the parent substance named in section 502(e) of the act, the labeling shall, in conjunction with the listing of the established name of such ingredient, declare that such article is a derivative or preparation of such parent substance.

(g)

(1) If the label or labeling of a prescription drug bears a proprietary name or designation for the drug or any ingredient thereof, the established name, if such there be, corresponding to such proprietary name or designation shall accompany such proprietary name or designation each time it is featured on the label or in the labeling for the drug; but, except as provided in this subparagraph, the established name need not be used with the proprietary name or designation in the running text of the label or labeling. On any label or page of labeling in which the proprietary name or designation is not featured but is used in the running text, the established name shall be used at least once in the running text in association with such proprietary name or designation and in the same type size used in such running text: Provided, however, That if the proprietary name or designation is used in the running text in larger size type, the established name shall be used at least once in association with, and in type at least half as large as the type used for, the most prominent presentation of the proprietary name or designation in such running text. If any labeling includes a column with running text containing detailed information as to composition, prescribing, side effects, or contraindications and the proprietary name or designation is used in such column but is not featured above or below the column, the established name shall be used at least once in such column of running text in association with such proprietary name or designation and in the same type size used in such column of running text: Provided, however, That if the proprietary name or designation is used in such column of running text in larger size type, the established name shall be used at least once in association with, and in type at least half as large as the type used for, the most prominent presentation of the proprietary name or designation in such column of running text. Where the established name is required to accompany or to be used in association with the proprietary name or designation, the established name shall be placed in direct conjunction with the proprietary name or designation, and the relationship between the proprietary name or designation and the established name shall be made clear by use of a phrase such as “brand of” preceding the established name, by brackets surrounding the established name, or by other suitable means.

(2) The established name shall be printed in letters that are at least half as large as the letters comprising the proprietary name or designation with which it is joined, and the established name shall have a prominence commensurate with the prominence with which such proprietary name or designation appears, taking into account all pertinent factors, including typography, layout, contrast, and other printing features.

(h)

(1) In the case of a prescription drug containing two or more active ingredients, if the label bears a proprietary name or designation for such mixture and there is no established name corresponding to such proprietary name or designation, the quantitative ingredient information required on the label by section 502(e) of the act shall be placed in direct conjunction with the most prominent display of the proprietary name or designation. The prominence of the quantitative ingredient information shall bear a reasonable relationship to the prominence of the proprietary name.

(2) If the drug is packaged in a container too small to bear the quantitative ingredient information on the main display panel, the quantitative ingredient information required by section 502(e) of the act may appear elsewhere on the label, even though the proprietary name or designation appears on the main display panel of the label; but side- or back-panel placement shall in this case be so arranged and printed as to provide size and prominence of display reasonably related to the size and prominence of the front-panel display.

(i) A drug packaged in a container too small or otherwise unable to accommodate a label with sufficient space to bear the information required for compliance with section 502(e)(1) (A)(ii) and (B) of the act shall be exempt from compliance with those clauses: Provided, That:

(1) The label bears:

(i) The proprietary name of the drug;

(ii) The established name, if such there be, of the drug;

(iii) An identifying lot or control number; and

(iv) The name of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the drug; and

(2) All the information required to appear on the label by the act and the regulations in this chapter appears on the carton or other outer container or wrapper if such carton, outer container, or wrapper has sufficient space to bear such information, or such complete label information appears on a leaflet with the package.

[40 FR 13998, Mar. 27, 1975, as amended at 67 FR 4906, Feb. 1, 2002]