english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2017 > Prescrire's Information Awards for 2016: several drug companies are honoured, but the lack of transparency persists

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Prescrire's Information Awards for 2016: several drug companies are honoured, but the lack of transparency persists

Palmarès de l'information The 2016 Information Awards by non-profit French medical journal Prescrire reveal that, as in previous years, few pharmaceutical companies embraced transparency by agreeing to share all the data they hold with healthcare professionals


As part of its systematic literature search, Prescrire requests clinical data, packaging, and administrative and regulatory information from drug companies, then compares them with information obtained from other sources.

Prescrire's Information Awards reflect how each company assumes this responsibility to share information. Our aim is to encourage companies that have a responsible policy on the provision of information, and to urge companies that fail in this responsibility to do better. 

Some companies choose to be transparent with Prescrire and demonstrate this by sending us quality information. 9 such companies were placed on the  "Honours List" for 2016. And 2 of these were rated as "Outstanding" for providing useful, detailed data without delay and sometimes without being asked: CTRS (Cell Therapies Research & Services) and EG Labo.

Other drug companies fail to respond to some or all of our requests for information, or provide only limited data. Some of them delay their response, then fail to provide usable information. Some omit the most important or sensitive data. Red Cards are given to highlight persistent deficiencies in the provision of information by certain drug companies: Prescrire's Editors handed out 11 such Red Cards for 2016.

As in previous years, few pharmaceutical companies embraced transparency in 2016 by agreeing to share all the data they hold with healthcare professionals. Yet transparency demonstrates a company's commitment to improving medication safety.

> The Prescrire Awards for 2016 (Free)

©Prescrire 1 February 2017

"The Prescrire Awards 2016" Prescrire Int 2017; 26 (180): 79-83. Pdf, free
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The Prescrire
Awards for 2016
(February 2017)
Free