Prescgere magazine publishes its ninth blacklist of drugs to avoid

Prescgere magazine publishes its ninth black list of drugs to be discarded due to their dangerousness or the risks they pose on Thursday.

Revision To prescribe He unveiled on Thursday his new list of a hundred drugs “more dangerous than useful”, to be avoided because of the “disproportionate” health risks they face to patients, with newcomers like Propecia against male pattern baldness.

Among those added to this blacklist this year, there are two drugs that expose undesirable effects “disproportionate” in relation to their poor efficacy or the benignity of the disorders treated.

Many harmful effects

This is the case of the famous drug for moderate hair loss in men, “finasteride 1 mg” (Propecia and generics).

The ANSM Medicines Agency has already warned about the risks of psychiatric (anxiety, depression) and sexual disorders (including ejaculation disorders and decreased libido) that should lead to the suspension of this anti-baldness treatment.

Also pinned: piracetam (Nootropyl and generics), a “vasodilator” licensed in various indications including dizziness, and as an adjunct treatment for chronic minor (cognitive or sensorineural) disorders related to aging.

There are three other drugs, which have some effectiveness, but with disproportionate side effects or for which there are other less dangerous options.

112 drugs, 93 of which are marketed in France

It is esketamine (Spravato) nasal spray “of uncertain efficacy” against depression resistant to antidepressants; pimecrolimus (Elidel not marketed in France) against atopic eczema, but with an increased risk of skin cancer and lymphoma. The third is romosozumab (Evenity, not marketed in France) for severe osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Among the drugs to be excluded there are also a dozen drugs of the gliflozin family, against diabetes. Sore throat, cough, cold … other products not recommended in previous years are still high on the list.

The 2021 list covers 112 drugs, 93 of which are marketed in France, he explains To prescribe. The drugs referenced in this list are “causes of death, hospitalization, or serious or very troublesome adverse effects, largely preventable,” the magazine states. However, “I am not necessarily a future ‘Mediator’, at the center of scandals and trials (…). Especially if all health actors react in time”, he stresses.

This report is available on the journal’s website (https://www.prescellare.org/ecarter).