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Transparency in the pharmaceutical industry: Prescrire's 2007 Information Awards

Prescrire rewards the companies that act responsibly by making their full data available to Prescrire editorial staff. And Prescrire reminds companies who fail to do so that releasing this information is in patients' best interests.

Prescrire's reviews are based on a thorough literature search for all evaluation data, especially clinical. Prescrire also contacts the companies that market drugs to ensure that all the evidence is taken into account, including unpublished data. Prescrire's Information Awards focus on the quality of information provided to Prescrire by the companies whose products were assessed during the previous year in the New Products section of Prescrire's French edition.

Prescrire congratulates firms that act responsibly and provide their data, especially unpublished data, in a timely manner: 14 firms made the Honours list, and two of them were deemed "Outstanding" for the particularly exhaustive, detailed and pertinent nature of the data supplied.

On the other hand, some firms either did not respond or did not provide a comprehensive reply to Prescrire's requests for information. Nine firms were given a Red Card, to spur them to do better, in the interest of both patients and health professionals.

Like Prescrire's other awards, the Information Award winners are selected methodically and in total independence, under rules that are available online at www.prescrire.org.

©Prescrire February 2008

Source: "Le Palmarès 2007 de l'information" Rev Prescrire 2008 ; 28 (292) : 87.

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