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The Prescrire Awards for 2009

The independent French journal's take on the year's
top Drugs, Packaging and Information

A look back at drug development in 2009: one step forward, two steps back

  • In 2009, we examined 104 new brand name products or new indications for existing products in the French edition of Prescrire.
     
  • Only 3 of these 104 "innovations" provided some therapeutic advantage, while 19 had clearly unfavourable risk-benefit balances. Marketing authorisations are failing to adequately protect patients.
     
  • A number of cheaper generic versions of useful drugs were introduced to the market, while BigPharma’s anticompetitive practices were aimed at slowing the growth of generics manufacturers.
     
  • The quality of over-the-counter drugs marketed for self-medication, especially "umbrella" brands, left much to be desired.
     
  • Consumer protection is clearly not the primary concern of the European (EMA) and French (Afssaps) drug regulatory agencies. They remain too financially dependent on drug companies; hesitate to withdraw dangerous drugs from the market; and withhold drug safety data
     
  • Other signs of drug companies' excessive influence, at patients' expense, include drug pricing that bears little relation to therapeutic advantage (in oncology, for example); the financial dependence of many patient groups on drug companies; the European Commission’s attempts to authorise direct-to-consumer advertising and to allow the pharmaceutical sector to tighten its grip on health information, including pharmacovigilance data.
     
  • Governments must assume their responsibilities, and patients and the healthcare profession must resist BigPharma’s increasing involvement in all spheres of patient care.

© Prescrire April 2010

Source: "A look back at 2009: one step forward, two steps back" Prescrire Int 2010; 19 (106): 89-94.

> Click here for the full text (pdf, 177 Ko).