Every month, Prescrire's Editorial Staff help health professionals decide which of the multitude of newly authorised products or indications are worth adding to their list of useful treatment options, and which are to be avoided. We do this by conducting systematic analyses of the relevant evaluation data available on new drugs, new indications, new pharmaceutical forms and new dose strengths authorised in Europe or in France.

None of the drugs examined by Prescrire in 2023 represented a major therapeutic advance worthy of a Pilule d'Or (Golden Pill Award). Only one drug received an award, earning a place on the Honours List.

Drugs included on the Honours List constitute a clear advance for some patients compared with existing therapeutic options, albeit with limitations.

Blinatumomab (Blincyto°) in high-risk first-relapse acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children. A notable reduction in mortality, demonstrated in two randomised comparative trials in children with high-risk first-relapse ALL, is a clear therapeutic advance that justifies blinatumomab's place on this year's Honours List.

©Prescrire 1 May 2024

Source: "The Prescrire Awards for 2023" Prescrire Int 2024; 33 (259): 132-134. Free.

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