The Information Awards focus
on the information provided to Prescrire
by the companies whose products
we examined in the New Products
section of our French edition in 2018.
Honours List
(in alphabetical order) |
OUTSTANDING:
• EG Labo
• Ethylpharm
|
FOLLOWED BY:
• Amomed Pharma
• Arrow Génériques
• Bouchara Recordati
• Endoceutics
• Lucane Pharma
|
Red Cards
(in alphabetical order) |
• Allergan
• Bayer Healthcare
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Celgene
• Centre Spécialités Pharmaceutiques
• Genévrier
• Genzyme (groupe Sanofi)
• Indivior
|
• Janssen Cilag
• Menarini
• MSD
• MSD Vaccins
• Pfizer
• Sandoz
• Sanofi Aventis
• UCB Pharma
|
About the 2018 Information Awards
Pharmaceutical companies hold a wealth of information on the drugs they market or withdraw from the market. They have a responsibility to share this information, in part to help ensure that their drugs are used appropriately and to protect patients from adverse effects.
As part of its systematic literature search, Prescrire requests clinical data, packaging, administrative and regulatory documentation from pharmaceutical companies, and crosses this information against that obtained from other sources. Prescrire's Information Awards reflect how each company assumes this responsibility to share information.
Information requested from 86 firms in 2018, with only 7 firms being transparent
In 2018, we requested information from 86 pharmaceutical companies. Some companies chose to be transparent, and demonstrated this by providing detailed, relevant information in response to Prescrire's requests. These companies earn a place on the Honours List (7 out of the 86 companies approached for information in 2018). Those rated as “Outstanding” provided us with particularly useful and detailed information without delay and sometimes without being asked (2 companies out of the 86 approached).
A lack of transparency, putting corporate interest before patients' interest
Other drug companies failed to respond to some or all of our requests for information, or provided only limited data. Some of them delayed their response and failed to provide usable information. Some omitted the most important or sensitive data. Red Cards are given to highlight persistent deficiencies in the provision of information by some pharmaceutical companies (16 of the 86 companies approached). Some of the other 63 companies provided a bare minimum of information, sometimes after several reminders. These firms appear to be open to Prescrire's requests, but in fact practice a false pretence of information sharing.
The years go by, yet nothing changes. In 2018 as in previous years, few pharmaceutical companies agreed to share the data they hold with the health professionals who subscribe to Prescrire. They chose to keep the relevant documentation, such as unpublished evaluation data, secret. This attitude raises doubts about the existence of information unfavourable to their products, which patients and healthcare professionals should nevertheless be aware of.
> Download the rules governing the Prescrire Awards (pdf in French)
Quality of information from pharmaceutical companies
We use a 4-point scale to rate the quality of the information provided by companies in response to our systematic requests
   
> Prescrire's information ratings |
©Prescrire 1 February 2019
"The Prescrire Awards for 2018" Prescrire Int 2019; 28 (202): 78-82. (Pdf, free)
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