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Check before deciding  Editorial  Many people take medicines regularly for months or even years. If their condition worsens or a new health problem develops, other medicines are often added. When prescribing, advising, dispensing or administering an additional drug, it is essential to consider the adverse effects that could result from interactions with the patient's current medications.   Full article available for download (free) 1 May 2024

Tezepelumab (Tezspire°) in severe asthma in adults and adolescents  Marketing Authorisations   Tezepelumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin. It has been authorised in the European Union for use in adults and adolescents with severe asthma, as an add-on to insufficiently effective maintenance treatment with a high-dose inhaled corticosteroid combined with at least one other drug. In this situation, is tezepelumab more effective than an oral corticosteroid or any of the other monoclonal antibodies authorised in asthma, does it help reduce patients’ oral corticosteroid requirements, and what are its adverse effects? Full article available for download by subscribers (4 pages) 1 May 2024

The Prescrire Drug Awards for 2023 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. Full article available for download (free) 1 May 2024

Pregabalin during the first trimester of pregnancy: probably a slight increase in major malformations  Adverse Effects   New pharmacoepidemiological data show a higher incidence of various major congenital malformations following in­-utero exposure to pregabalin than in control groups. What is the evidence for this risk, and what are the consequences in practice? Full article available for download by subscribers (2 pages) 1 May 2024

Efgartigimod alfa (Vyvgart°) in generalised myasthenia gravis  Marketing Authorisations   Efgartigimod alfa, an antibody Fc fragment that is claimed to increase IgG degradation by blocking the neonatal Fc receptor, has been authorised in the European Union as an add-on treatment in adults with generalised myasthenia gravis who have autoantibodies directed against acetylcholine receptors. Is efgartigimod alfa more effective at alleviating the symptoms of the disease than the other treatments proposed in this situation, does it prevent the complications of the disease, including myasthenic crisis, and what are its adverse effects? Full article available for download by subscribers (3 pages) 1 May 2024

European Commission public consultation on the revision of European pharmaceutical legislation: Prescrire's response  Advancing Healthcare Policy   The European Commission has launched a major revision of European pharmaceutical legislation. In November 2023, it opened its proposals to public consultation, to which Prescrire has responded. While Prescrire welcomes several of the proposals, some of them need to be further developed. Others are counterproductive or even dangerous, and should be rejected. Full article (4 pages) available for download (free) 1 May 2024

Bad in food but fine in health products?  Outlook   Bisphenol A and titanium dioxide: the European Medicines Agency (EMA) disputes the need to remove these substances from health products, yet it is acknowledged that their presence in food is harmful. Full article available for download (free) 1 May 2024

Evaluating drugs for today's patients, without neglecting tomorrow's patients  Editorial  The quantity and quality of information available about new drugs when they first enter the market has declined considerably in recent years, to the point where a group of drug evaluation specialists and healthcare professionals issued a warning about this situation in a French national newspaper in spring 2023. At the same time, certain patients' organisations criticised France's National Authority for Health (HAS) for “deadly decisions” which they claim delay access to purportedly promising new drugs.   Full article available for download (free) 1 April 2024

RSVpreF vaccine (Abrysvo°) during pregnancy to prevent RSV infection in the woman's child after birth  Marketing Authorisations   RSVpreF vaccine was authorised in the European Union in mid-2023 for pregnant women between weeks 24 and 36 of gestation, to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in their children from birth to 6 months of age. Does maternal vaccination during pregnancy provide more effective protection for infants, or provoke fewer or milder adverse effects, than the administration of nirsevimab or palivizumab to the infant?  Full article available for download by subscribers (4 pages) 1 April 2024

Prescrire's ratings of new drugs in 2023  Marketing Authorisations   In 2023, therapeutic advances were rare, and mainly benefit cancer patients. Most newly authorised products or indications offered no advantages over existing options, and a few were more dangerous than beneficial, especially for children. Full article available for download (free) 1 April 2024

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