many treatments are still out of stock

Ventolin, antidiabetic, antidepressants… Shortages and tensions remain significant in pharmacies. Around fifty drugs cannot be found. For example, no longer look for eldisine, a treatment for cancer, lasilix, for hypertension, or even eurobiol, for pancreatic insufficiency, since there is simply no more.

Some of these shortages date from last summer, or even more than a year ago. However, There is still improvement compared to last year. There is in fact no tension on paracetamol, amoxicillin or corticosteroids. It turns out to be more complicated with asthma treatments and pediatric antibiotics.

Some patients are not treated as they should be in France. This results in treatment delays or different care. A patient suffering from bladder cancer can theoretically be treated with medication, but if it is out of stock, the doctor may opt for surgery, which is more risky.

How to explain this shortage?

The problem seems unsolvable. “We are in patchy measures”proclaims a pharmacist representative. Since last summer, the medicines safety agency has had more power in the event of supply tensions: it can ask manufacturers to produce more, then it distributes the stocks between pharmacies. Since 2021, manufacturers must also have, at all times, two months of stock for strategic drugs.

However, this goes further than simple stock management. France does not have control over a large part of the raw materials, active ingredients of medicines, including 35% come from India, China or the United States. French purchasing prices are not the most attractive, which disrupts supply chains.

In June 2023, at the end of Covid, Emmanuel Macron had unveiled a list of 250 strategic drugs for which it was urgent to relocate production. For 25 of them, industrial projects were already underway. The flagship of this wave is carried by the French chemist Seqens. By 2026, the active ingredient of paracetamol will be introduced in the suburbs of Lyon. For other drugs, attracting new projects and setting up factories does not happen in the blink of an eye.

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