n°88

April 2007

Issue Contents
Editorial

Free  Distinct and separate roles

p.46
BigPharma should mind its own business

Marketing Authorisations

Lanthanum (hyperphosphataemia in dialysis patients) (new drug)

p.47-50
More potential problems than benefits

Metformin (children with type 2 diabetes) (new indication)

p.50-52
Useful for some children

Ivabradine (stable angina) (new drug)

p.53-56
Best avoided

Nitisinone (type 1 tyrosinemia) (new drug)

p.56-58
An effective drug

Sertindole (schizophrenia)(new drug)

p.59-62
Another 'atypical neuroleptic'; QT prolongation

Patenting of indications: irrelevant to healthcare professionals!

p.62

Interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin (children with chronic hepatitis C) (new indication)

p.63-65
More risks than in adults

Iron 0.5 mg (neonatal iron deficiency) (new drug)

p.65
A welcome low-dose formulation for neonates

Free  Rivastigmine (dementia and Parkinson's disease: no thank you) (New Indication)

p.66
Adverse effects outweigh the benefits

Bicalutamide (non metastatic prostate cancer)

p.67
Not acceptable

Simvastatin + ezetimibe (prevention of cardiovascular disease)

p.67
A combination with no proven advantages

Adverse Effects

Rosuvastatin: renal disorders and rhabdomyolysis

p.68-69

Asthma: fatal exacerbations with long-acting beta2 agonist therapy without concomitant steroid therapy

p.69-70

Direct reporting by patients: positive results

p.71

Modafinil: serious skin reactions

p.71

Lamotrigine: birth defects

p.71

Telithromycin: QT prolongation

p.71

Intravenous iron and hypersensitivity

p.71-72

Deferiprone: agranulocytosis and neurological disorders

p.72

Imatinib: cardiac risks?

p.72

Alendronic acid: synovitis,myalgia and arthralgia

p.72

Rotarix°: injected by mistake

p.72

Reviews

Arterial "prehypertension"

p.73-75
A useful concept for drug companies, useless for patients

Chickenpox: very low mortality in France and the USA

p.75

Outlook

2006 Prescrire Awards

p.76-79

2006 New drug Awards

p.77

2006 Packaging Awards

p.78

2006 Information Awards

p.79

Free  A look back at pharmaceuticals in 2006: aggressive advertising cannot hide the absence of therapeutic advance

p.80-86

Free  Drug regulations: some advances in 2006, others eagerly awaited in 2007

p.81

Free  Advertising: rapidly expanding, and increasingly aimed directly at patients

p.85

Broad coalition opposes pharmaceutical industry control over health information

p.86

A new chapter unfolds at Prescrire

p.88

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