Potency (pharmacology)

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In pharmacology, potency or biological potency^[1] is a measure of a drug's biological activity expressed in terms of the dose required to produce a pharmacological effect of given intensity.^[2] A highly potent drug (e.g., fentanyl, clonazepam, risperidone, benperidol, bumetanide) evokes a given response at low concentrations, while a drug of lower potency (e.g. morphine, alprazolam, ziprasidone, haloperidol, furosemide) evokes the same response only at higher concentrations. Higher potency does not necessarily mean greater effectiveness nor more side effects nor less side effects.