Each month the editorial staff presents systematic and comparative analyses of available data on all newly approved drugs in France, and on new therapeutic indications granted for existing drugs. The aim is to help the reader to distinguish, among the plethora of lavishly promoted new commercial products (despite the failings of the licensing authorities), those medications worth adding to their drug list or using instead of existing drugs.

This evaluation follows rigorous procedures (details on www.prescrire.org) that include a thorough literature search, a large panel of reviewers (specific to each drug), and a quality control system to check, among other things, that the text is consistent with the references.

Independence This work is carried out in total independence: our activities are financed exclusively by individual readers’ subscriptions: neither the French nor the English edition carries any paid advertising, nor do we receive grants or subsidies of any kind (see our annual financial report).

At the end of each year, the Prescrire Drug Awards are based on review articles published that year. Note that the selection process takes into account any new data available since the initial article was published.

The rules governing the Drug Awards are also available on the Prescrire website at www.prescrire.org.

Therapeutic advance is defined as better efficacy, fewer or less severe adverse effects (for the same efficacy), or safer or more convenient administration.

2007: therapeutic progress for some patients As in 2006, we considered that a drug introduced to the French market during the previous year deserved the Golden Pill award . However, very few patients will benefit from this therapeutic advance. In the vast majority of clinical situations the lack of real innovation continues. And, unable to introduce enough new drugs to the market that represent a tangible therapeutic advance, most drug companies are simply marking time, cutting up the indications for their existing products into thinner and thinner slices, using numerous strategies to exploit their remaining patents to the fullest, and are using and abusing advertising in all its different forms to boost sales.

In this stagnant situation, what patients need most are more dynamic and demanding regulatory authorities.

©Prescrire April 2008

Source: Prescrire Int 2008; 17 (94): 75.