Ophélie Artaud / Photo credit: Amaury Cornu / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
Over 3,000. This is the number of medicines reported out of stock or at risk of being out of stock since 2022. A shortage that is still relevant, which has been going on for several months in French pharmacies. Amoxicillin, paracetamol, analgesic, antiepileptic, anticancer, abortion pill are particularly affected by shortages or supply tensions, according to the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).
On February 1, the Senate also set up a commission of inquiry, chaired by centrist senator Sonia de La Provôté to “shed light on the causes of these shortages” and “propose solutions to remedy them. “. A situation that could have dramatic consequences in the lives of patients: according to the organization France Assos Santé, which participated in the Senate commission, “45% of people facing these shortages have been forced to postpone their treatment, to modify it , even to give it up or stop it”.
How to explain the shortage of drugs?
Especially since drug shortages have multiplied over the past decade: in 2013, 300 references were reported out of stock; this year, there are 3,000. Several factors have amplified this problem. First of all, the Covid: China, one of the main producers of medicines, saw its number of contaminations explode at the end of 2022 and had decided to no longer export certain medicines, in particular those based on paracetamol, to reserve them for its domestic market.
Then, France was hit by a double epidemic of influenza and bronchiolitis this winter, which greatly increased the demand for certain molecules. Finally, indirectly, the war in Ukraine also had consequences on the drug market, leading to an increase in the price of product packaging.
More broadly, insufficient production capacities, the complexity of manufacturing chains, the concentration of manufacturers or the difficulties in supplying raw materials increase the risk of shortages, while many countries need more and more medicines due to of their aging population.
What solutions to limit the risk of shortage?
While a large part of the drugs are produced in Asia, one of the solutions could be to relocate production to Europe. The Minister of Health, François Braun, announced his desire to put in place a “French policy of sovereignty, but also a European policy”. Because beyond France, several European countries are affected by stock shortages.
This Thursday, Leem, the French lobby of the pharmaceutical industry, recommended the appointment of “a senior or high commissioner for medicines to ensure coordination of the action plan at French and European level”. The lobby also pleads for an increase in the price of drugs leaving the factory, to bring themselves up to the level of some of the other European countries, which buy them more expensive, and would therefore be favored by certain manufacturers during periods of economic tension. ‘supply.
The government is also compiling a list of around 280 “essential” drugs, to try to avoid future shortages. Insulin, amoxicillin, paracetamol or antiepileptic drugs should be among them.