• Prescrire Int. 2015 Dec 1; 24 (166): 303-7.

AbstractIn France, the Pharmacoeconomic Committee (Commission de la Transparence) is responsible for assessing the therapeutic value of new drugs and their therapeutic advantages over existing therapies. These assessments are used in particular by public authorities to guide reimbursement policy, to decide whether to approve the drug's use in hospitals and other healthcare institutions, and to negotiate its price. Prescrire evaluates the therapeutic advantages of new drugs marketed in France (including products not reimbursed by the national health insurance system) and new indications, to help prescribers and patients make informed treatment choices. A study comparing the Pharmacoeconomic Committee's ratings versus Prescrire's ratings, issued during the period 2009-2014 on a total of more than 300 new drugs and indications, has confirmed the results of a comparison carried out in 2004: overall, the French Pharmacoeconomic Committee is less demanding than Prescrire. The Pharmacoeconomic Committee is less concerned with ease of use, and more often considers positively drugs approved for situations in which there is a pressing need for better treatments, even when their efficacy is slight and poorly established. Prescrire's assessments are based on explicit procedures: a literature search; analysis of the evidence for efficacy; analysis of adverse effects; systematic consideration of treatment convenience, including packaging quality; and a systematic rating system. In addition, our ratings are free of any influence from the pharmaceutical industry.

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