Prescrire's annual Drug Awards recognise, in all independence, new drugs, or new indications for drugs already on the market, which represent tangible progress for patients. The purpose is to draw attention to new drugs that are worth putting into use in medical practice.
 
This year, Prescrire's Drug Awards honoured three existing drugs:

• 1 drug was added to the Honours List:
  • Propranolol oral solution has become the drug of choice for severe haemangioma in infants. It is more effective than placebo and its adverse effects are more acceptable overall than that of long-term oral corticosteroid therapy.
• 2 drugs were deemed "Noteworthy":
  • Permethrin 5% cream, authorised at long last in France for treatment of classic scabies, is useful mainly for the treatment of young children weighing less than 15 kg.
  • Oral ketoconazole has finally been granted marketing authorisation for the rare but serious disorder endogenous Cushing’s syndrome. In this situation, data from non-comparative case series in a total of 800 patients suggest that oral ketoconazole is effective in more than half of patients. However, its use requires certain precautions on account of its hepatotoxicity and strong potential for drug interactions.

©Prescrire 1 February 2016

"The Prescrire Awards 2015" Prescrire Int 2016: 25 (169) 78-81. (pdf, free)