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Spotlight

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

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100 most recent
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Look to the past

Editorial When a product arrives on the market, it doesn't appear out of nowhere. It has a past. It may be a slightly improved version of a well-established product, or one of several prototypes that have been in development for many years. Or perhaps a substance derived from a product that was abandoned because it proved to be of no value or too dangerous, etc. The story around the development of a new product always contains useful information on which to reflect, in order to understand and make informed decisions.
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1 April 2026

Lecanemab (Leqembi°) in early Alzheimer's disease

Marketing Authorisations The European Medicines Agency (EMA) initially issued a negative opinion on the marketing authorisation application for lecanemab. After an appeal by the pharmaceutical company and re-examination of the data, particularly in certain subgroups of patients, the EMA issued a positive opinion.
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1 April 2026

Prescrire's drug ratings in 2025: a brief review

Marketing Authorisations 2025 saw 3 major therapeutic advances for children, and a few other notable advances. Compared with previous years, just as many drugs offered no advantages over existing treatment options, and slightly more drugs were more dangerous than beneficial. In several cases, new data on previously evaluated drugs changed their harm-benefit balance.
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1 April 2026

Rating therapeutic advance: third comparison of Prescrire's drug ratings with those of the French HAS

Outlook A comparative analysis of drug ratings assigned by Prescrire and France's National Authority for Health (HAS) reveals that the main differences between them concern the weight assigned to presumed innovation and to advances in ease of use.
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1 April 2026

In-utero exposure to clomifene: malformations, and obstetrical and perinatal complications

Adverse effects Clomifene is used to treat infertility due to ovarian dysfunction. After stopping treatment, it takes about 1 month for the drug to be cleared from the body completely. It is teratogenic in animals. In this article we have compiled the main data on the adverse effects of clomifene in children exposed in utero.
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1 April 2026

Management of conflicts of interest at the EMA: are drug evaluations really shielded from industry influence?

Queries and Comments In response to an editorial published in Prescrire International in June 2025, on the management of conflicts of interest at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), we received a letter from the EMA's Head of Public and Stakeholders Engagement Department, Juan Garcia Burgos. We have published this letter and our response in this article.
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1 April 2026

A centralised European Medical Devices Agency, and soon!

Editorial In July 2025, the national authorities for health products of 17 EU countries called for the creation of a centralised European agency for medical devices. They argued that it would strengthen cooperation between countries, by coordinating their vigilance and risk-assessment activities in an increasingly complex market. This would make it possible to better protect patients, while being more cost-effective for member states, and reducing the administrative burden on medical device companies. The hopes raised by their remarkable position statement were immediately dashed by the European Commission's announcement of a reform with quite different aims.
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1 March 2026

Bempedoic acid (Nilemdo°) or bempedoic acid + ezetimibe (Nustendi°) in cardiovascular prevention

Marketing Authorisations Bempedoic acid has been authorised in the European Union, alone or as part of a fixed-dose combination with ezetimibe, for use in primary or secondary cardiovascular prevention, either as monotherapy or in combination with other cholesterol-lowering drugs, when statins are considered insufficiently effective or cannot be used, which is often due to their adverse effects.
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1 March 2026

Trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla°) in certain breast cancers, after neoadjuvant treatment with trastuzumab + chemotherapy and surgery

Marketing Authorisations Trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla°) has been authorised in the European Union since 2019 for use as monotherapy after surgery in women or men with breast cancer overexpressing HER2 who have residual invasive disease despite treatment with a combination of chemotherapy + HER2-targeted therapy before surgery. This marketing authorisation was based on data from an interim analysis of a non-blinded randomised trial. In light of current data, does trastuzumab emtansine compared with trastuzumab extend survival in this situation? Does it have fewer or milder adverse effects?
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1 March 2026

Azithromycin: some indications refined and others removed due to increased bacterial resistance

Marketing Authorisations Due to an increase in bacterial resistance to azithromycin, the European Medicines Agency has reviewed the harm-benefit balance of this macrolide antibiotic. As a result, certain indications have been refined, some have been removed, and warnings about the risk of bacterial resistance have been added. Rational measures for an antibiotic that is useful in a variety of situations.
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1 March 2026

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