E-DRUG: Prescrire 2013 Awards for Drugs, Packaging & Information
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The independent French medical journal Prescrire held its annual awards in Paris on 30 January. Prescrire's annual Drug Awards recognise new drugs, or new indications for drugs already on the market, representing tangible progress for patients. Chosen in complete independence by the Editorial Staff of the non-profit French journal Prescrire, the Awards reflect the analysis of the available data on new products published in the journal over the past year.
For 2013, for the third year in a row, there was no "Pilule d'Or" ("Golden Pill"). This award recognises drugs that provide a major therapeutic advance for patients and healthcare professionals in a field in which no treatment was previously available. Nor were any drugs added to Prescrire's "Honours List" of drugs that provide a clear advantage for some patients in comparison to existing therapeutic options. Just one drug was deemed to have made a positive, if modest, contribution to patient care.
Prescrire announced its Packaging Awards for 2013. Three winners for the Packaging Award demonstrate that quality drug packaging is indeed within reach for pharmaceutical companies. But a flurry of "Yellow Cards" and "Red Cards" point to a multitude of dangers from poor packaging and incomplete leaflets.
Prescrire announced its Information Awards for 2013: a handful of companies were honoured, but too many lag behind. Pharmaceutical companies' transparency, essential to their credibility, is a critical component in the choice of a drug, ranking just behind efficacy, adverse effects, ease of use and price. Prescrire's annual Information Awards reveal which companies practice transparency and which fall short.
©Prescrire 1 February 2014
See The 2013 Prescrire Awards: Drugs, Packaging, Information : http://english.prescrire.org
Here is the pdf with all the details
http://english.prescrire.org/Docu/Archive/docus/2013_PrescrireAwards.pdf
Regards,
Bruno Toussaint
Publishing Director, Prescrire
Website: english.prescrire.org
contact@prescrire.org