The National Medicines Safety Agency activated its plan to combat shortages this Thursday.
It was first launched last winter to avoid similar difficulties in the 2022-2023 season.
The key molecules of winter illnesses are still subject to increased monitoring while macrolides, against whooping cough, are added to the list.
Avoid reliving the major difficulties of winter 2022, particularly in the supply of pediatric amoxicillin and paracetamol. This is the objective of the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) which activated, this Thursday, October 10, for the second consecutive year, its plan to combat shortages of health products during the winter season, in general. more conducive to the circulation of viruses.
As a reminder, despite a winter epidemiological season which was “more favorable and less precocious” last year compared to the winter of 2022/2023, France still experienced tensions which “focused on antibiotics”recalls the ANSM.
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For this winter 2024-2025, the medicine policeman is maintaining reinforced monitoring of antibiotics, including amoxicillin, medicines against fever including paracetamol in its pediatric form, corticosteroids and medicines against asthma, flagship products which have experienced significant supply tensions over recent winters.
Macrolides are added to the list
While a whooping cough epidemic has been underway since the summer on the national territory, the class of antibiotics favored in the first line to treat this condition, macrolides, is one of the drugs to be closely monitored during this winter season, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) said on Thursday.
“We are facing a whooping cough epidemic with very high consumption of this class of antibiotics, hence the importance of being able to have fairly reinforced monitoring of these molecules,” declared Pierre-Olivier Farenq, director of the ANSM crisis center, during a press briefing on the 2024/2025 winter plan. The agency noted “an increase in prescriptions, at the level of doctors and therefore in dispensations in pharmacies, of the antibiotic which is the first line in the treatment of whooping cough”, of the macrolide class.
The tensions “focused on pediatric forms” macrolides, but “today, we also see tensions in adult forms” due to this “atypical and significant consumption, which is long-term”adds Pierre-Olivier Farenq. “A number of measures are being discussed,” according to him, to limit the impact of these tensions, such as recommendations for good prescription, good use, prevention, the use of masterful preparations, importation and quotas.
The ANSM has already asked laboratories to “favor the supply of pharmacies by wholesale distributors in order to ensure equitable distribution of available boxes”.
Paracetamol for adults leaves the list
Conversely, paracetamol in dry oral form (250 mg and 500 mg) and prednisone (5 and 20 mg) were removed from the list of 13 molecules on which the ANSM focuses, because supplies remain stable.
The agency specifies that throughout the implementation of the plan, it will publish weekly monitoring of the management indicators which assess the availability of essential treatments to combat winter viruses.
