Prescrire's annual Drug Awards recognise new drugs, or new indications for drugs already on the market, representing tangible progress for patients. Chosen in complete independence by the Editorial Staff of the non-profit French journal Prescrire, the Awards reflect the analysis of the available data on new products published in the journal over the past year.

A painstaking sorting process allows drugs to be rated according to the therapeutic advance they represent. This can consist of greater efficacy, less frequent or less severe adverse effects (for similar efficacy), or the possibility of administering the treatment more easily or more safely.

For 2013, for the third year in a row, there was no "Pilule d'Or" ("Golden Pill"). This award recognises drugs that provide a major therapeutic advance for patients and healthcare professionals in a field in which no treatment was previously available. And also for the third year in a row, no drugs were added to Prescrire's "Honours List" of drugs that provide a clear advantage for some patients in comparison to existing therapeutic options.

Just one drug was deemed to have made a positive, if modest, contribution to patient care: Nimenrix° a vaccine against meningococcal serogroups A,C,W135,Y and whose intended recipients include children aged 1 to 2 years who will be travelling to epidemic or endemic areas.

This modest advance reflects another disappointing year, both for patients and for healthcare professionals eager for new drugs that represent genuine therapeutic progress.

©Prescrire 1 February 2014

"The 2013 Prescrire Awards" Prescrire Int 2014; 23 (147): 79-83. Pdf, free