APA guide · Sources nurses cite

Citing drug information

Drug information pages, like the labels on DailyMed, are cited like webpages with the manufacturer as the author. Here is the pattern, a common set of mistakes, and a question to check yourself.

The pattern

Manufacturer. (Year, Month Day). Title of the drug information [Drug information]. Website Name. URL

  • Manufacturer as author
  • (n.d.) when there's no date
  • Title in italic sentence case
  • [Drug information] after the title
  • Website name left out when it matches the author

Use the name of the drug or pharmaceutical company that makes the drug as the author.

The title is usually the name of the drug. Follow it with the description [Drug information] in square brackets, or other wording if that fits better.

Brand names are proper nouns, so they're capitalized. Generic names are common nouns, so they aren't.

Right and wrong, side by side

Correct

Novo Nordisk. (2025, January 2). Ozempic—semaglutide injection, solution [Drug information]. DailyMed. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=adec4fd2-6858-4c99-91d4-531f5f2a2d79

Ozempic is a brand name, so it's capitalized; semaglutide is generic, so it isn't.

Needs fixing

Novo Nordisk. (2025, January 2). Ozempic—Semaglutide Injection, Solution. Retrieved from DailyMed.

The title isn't italic or in sentence case, the generic name is capitalized, the [Drug information] description is missing, and there's no URL.

In the text

Parenthetical

(Novo Nordisk, 2025)

Narrative

Novo Nordisk (2025)

Check yourself

Which title is in correct sentence case?

  • Ozempic—Semaglutide injection, solution
  • Ozempic—semaglutide injection, solution
  • ozempic—semaglutide injection, solution
Show the answer

Ozempic—semaglutide injection, solution. The brand name Ozempic is a proper noun and keeps its capital; the generic name semaglutide is a common noun and stays lowercase.