In the face of a shortage of drugs, the Senate seeks solutions

Last year, in France, 530 reports of drugs out of stock were made, 30% more than in 2016, of after data from the National Agency of Medicines (ANSM). Aggravating factor to this already problematic situation: the drugs concerned are considered "of major therapeutic interest".

Patients have difficulty living with these situations. All therapeutic clbades are concerned but three of them are more particularly exposed: anti-infectives, drugs of the nervous system, and anticancer drugs. "Among the anti-infectives, the particular clbad of vaccines has also been the subject of stockouts and / or supply tensions since 2015" specifies the ANSM.

A " unacceptable situation "for the Senate

This leap of 30% of reports made the Senate react, which intends to take the problem head on. An information mission was created for "to establish an inventory of the stock-outs and risks of stock-outs observed in recent years for medicines and vaccines, and to trace the different causes of this phenomenon in France. The Senate also announced that it was " proposing measures to remedy this unacceptable situation."

The Ansm already provides some explanations for repeated stock-outs. According to her, the " insufficient production capacity ", the " difficulties occurred during the manufacture of raw materials or finished products" the " quality defects on the drugs " the" decisions taken by the ANSM to suspend the activity of an establishment, manufacturer or operator, following inspections that call into question the quality of the drugs ", are in cause

France unattractive to laboratories

The Academy of Pharmacy also issued recommendations on the unavailability of essential drugs in a report dated 20 June. It considers that the problem "requires that many actors coordinate to resolve this situation, at risk, if nothing is done voluntarily, to see deteriorate further this situation in the coming years." In France, she stresses, the actors concerned are industrialists as well as public authorities and regulatory bodies in the health sector. The report of the academy points to a major aspect of this "stock crisis": the French drug market is not very interesting for manufacturers. The price of some anticancer drugs or old antibiotics not being updated in our country, in a competitive market, this leads to margins too low for the industrialists to invest in the structures of production, which can sometimes lead to the stopping of

Moreover, "the price differential between the different European States is often a handicap for France, especially when stocks are low at all levels of the production and distribution chain and do not cover major breaks for the least attractive countries ", reads. Clearly, if laboratories are not "right" in number of boxes, they prefer to sell to the highest bidder. And it is not our country.

The authors of the report argue therefore for " appropriate investment, and over a significant period, to relocate production and development in Europe."

The drawers of Will our pharmacies be full next year? A Senate report is expected at the end of September.