Antibiotics: the government makes it compulsory to sell drugs in shortage individually

Although winter is still far away, the government is preparing to avoid potential stock shortages of medicines. According to a source close to the matter who spoke to AFP, the executive will make the individual sale of certain antibiotics compulsory.

The products concerned are those out of stock, delivered under prescription. The objective is to prevent entire boxes of unused medicines from piling up in French people's cupboards. “There [will be] no rationing. The idea is to make the distribution of medications to the unit compulsory when there is tension. But not all, only certain antibiotics,” the source told the press agency, adding that “there is also an interest in fighting antibiotic resistance like this.” France is indeed one of the countries that consume the most antibiotics in Europe.

In reality, this device is already used by some health professionals. “We do it on our own initiative to compensate for stock shortages,” explains a preparer in a pharmacy in the Alpes-Maritimes, “we place an order in a laboratory in Marseille which prepares us capsules which we distribute individually, but it 'is much more expensive'. Among the drugs concerned are the antibiotic Clamoxyl or the anti-inflammatory Solupred.

But for other pharmacists, this unit sale poses a traceability problem. “Cutting out the blisters (packaging shells, Editor’s note) is not the right answer. In terms of traceability by batch number, it’s a real hassle,” recently estimated the president of the union of community pharmacists’ unions (Uspo). “There is no consensus on single delivery from an industrial point of view,” underlines the pharmaceutical laboratory lobby (Leem).

Contacted, the Ministry of Health did not provide further details on this announcement. But this allows Emmanuel Macron in particular to respect a campaign promise, mentioned in January 2017. “I am committed to the generalization of single unit sales of the drug,” he then announced, without suspecting that drug shortages would multiply over the years.