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In 1981, the WHO Regional Office for Europe recommended the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. In the ATC system, drugs are divided into fourteen main groups (1st level), with one pharmacological/theraputic subgroup (2nd level). The 3rd and 4th levels are chemical/pharmacological/theraputic subgroups and the 5th level is the chemical substance
The complete classification of simvastatin illustrates the structure of the code:
C Cardiovascular System
C10 Serum Lipid Reducing Agents
C10A Cholesterol and Triglyceride Reducers
C10AA HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitors
C10AA01 Simvastatin
The ATC classification system was originally based on the main principles of the Anatomical Classification (AC-system) developed by the European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association (EPhMRA) and the Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence and Research Group (PBIRG).