Two Packaging Awards:

• Maviret° tablets (glecaprevir + pibrentasvir) AbbVie 
  For the quality of its primary packaging, consisting of blister packs, each containing the daily dose of 3 tablets, and each blister pocket labelled with the INNs of both antiviral agents and their strengths. Also for its secondary packaging, which includes 4 boxes, each containing one week of treatment (7 blister packs with 3 tablets each), and a reminder of the dosing instructions on the lid of each box, stating “take all 3 tablets in 1 blister once daily with food” alongside a photo of the 3 tablets.This reminder helps patients take their treatment properly, enhancing the quality of packaging that also features boxes and blister packs that clearly identify the drugs they contain and their strength.
   
• Tiapridal° oral solution (tiapride) Sanofi Aventis 
  For the improvements made to its packaging: addition of a child-proof cap and an oral dosing syringe graduated in milligrams of the drug, and labelled with its INN and the concentration of the solution. Previously,Tiapridal° had a dropper inserted into the neck of the vial that carried a risk of error when counting the number of drops, especially for high doses. A syringe graduated in milligrams of tiapride eliminates the need to convert the number of milligrams prescribed into the number of millilitres of product to be administered, which can lead to errors.

 24 "Red Cards":

• Cytotoxic drugs packaged in bulk bottles
  
  • Imeth° 10 mg tablets (methotrexate) Nordic Pharma
  • Méthotrexate Bellon° tablets (methotrexate) Sanofi Aventis (a) 
  • Rubraca° tablets (rucaparib) Clovis Oncology 
  • Talzenna° hard capsules (talazoparib) Pfizer 
    
• Switch from blister packs to bulk bottles: a decline in quality
  
  • Lamictal° 5 mg dispersible or chewable tablets (lamotrigine) GlaxoSmithKline
• Packaging that increases the risk of dosing errors
  • Haldol° oral solution (haloperidol) Janssen
  • Istendo° solution for endotracheopulmonary instillation (acetylcysteine) Delbert
  • Preminor° hard capsules (ramipril + amlodipine) Leurquin Mediolanum  
  • Triplixam° tablets (perindopril + indapamide + amlodipine) Servier
  • Prexate° solution for injection in a pre-filled syringe (methotrexate) Alfasigma
    
• Insufficient efforts to prevent ingestion by children
  • Buprénorphine/Naloxone Arrow° sublingual tablets (buprenorphine + naloxone) Arrow Génériques
  • Buprénorphine/Naloxone Mylan° sublingual tablets (buprenorphine + naloxone) Mylan
  • Bonasol° oral solution (alendronic acid) X.O
  • Chlorhexidine Arrow° chlorhexidine 0.12% mouthwash Arrow Génériques
  • Chlorhexidine Biogaran° chlorhexidine 0.12% mouthwash Biogaran
  • Chlorhexidine Mylan° chlorhexidine 0.12% mouthwash Mylan
  • Paroex° chlorhexidine 0.12% mouthwash Centre Spécialités Pharmaceutiques
  • Prexidine° chlorhexidine 0.12% mouthwash X.O
  • Eludrilperio° chlorhexidine 0.20% mouthwash Pierre Fabre Médicament
  • Fluisédal° syrup (promethazine + meglumine benzoate + polysorbate 20) Elerté
  • Tussisédal° syrup (promethazine + noscapine) Elerté
    
• Patient leaflets that understate the product's harms
  • Prontadol° tablets (paracetamol + caffeine) Ipsen
  • Flector° non-gastro-resistant tablets (diclofenac) Genévrier
  • Nurofenplast° medicated plasters (ibuprofen) Reckitt Benckiser

Note:
a- The pharmaceutical company has informed us that Méthotrexate Bellon° is no longer marketed in France since late December 2020.

For details, download the full review:

 FREE  "The Prescrire Awards for 2020" Prescrire Int 2021; 30 (224): 77-81. (Pdf, free)

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