Emmanuel Macron wants to relocate the production of 50 priority drugs to France, including 25 in the coming weeks

2023-06-13 13:18:08

The Head of State extended, on Tuesday June 13, his communication offensive launched in May on the theme of reindustrialization. Emmanuel Macron presented in Ardèche a plan to relocate drug production to France, to deal with structural shortages of imported products, from antibiotics to paracetamol.

The President of the Republic announced the publication of a list of four hundred and fifty drugs for which a “Secure Supply Chains” will be a priority, through relocation or greater diversification of suppliers. It must be detailed by the Minister of Health, François Braun, on Tuesday afternoon. “We have no right to have weakness”insisted Mr. Macron about the molecules “essential” present on this list.

“What we’ve been through (…)we must not reproduce it”he added, referring to the lack of certain substances during the health crisis or the disruption of supply chains by the war in Ukraine from the start of 2022. Stocks will be monitored and controlled by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).

Among the drugs concerned, a ” heart “ list of a “fifty essential medicines for which our dependence on extra-European imports is proven” or whose French production is insufficient in relation to demand, which must therefore be “relocate”, explained the President of the Republic. Twenty-five of them “will see their production relocated or significantly increase (…) in the coming weeks “he added.

For this, he announced the launch of eight relocation projects and public and private investments of 160 million euros, including those of Aguettant and the British laboratory GSK to increase the production of amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic. to children and which is regularly out of stock.

The twenty-five other drugs to be relocated at a later stage will be subject to ” ticket office “ equipped with a “first envelope of 50 million euros” provided by the state, explained Emmanuel Macron, who also said he wanted to promote prevention to reduce the use of certain molecules misused.

Read also: Drugs: shortages in all product categories

Strengthening of French industrial and technological sovereignty

The Head of State, who was accompanied by the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, the Minister of Health, François Braun, and the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, went to Champagne for a visit to the pharmaceutical laboratory Watching. This trip was identified as the first in a series of presidential meetings devoted to strengthening French industrial and technological sovereignty, which will continue until next Monday.

Antibiotics, paracetamol, antiepileptics, anticancer drugs… More and more drugs are running out of pharmacies, in France and elsewhere in Europe, causing growing concern among various players. According to the BVA study carried out for France Assos Santé in March 2023, 37% of French people have been faced with shortages in pharmacies, notes the Elysée.

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, during a trip to Aguettant, a pharmaceutical laboratory, on June 13, 2023, in Champagne in Ardèche, France.

This problem is partly linked to excessive dependence on foreign countries. France depends 60% to 80% on imports, particularly from China, for the production of so-called mature drugs (antibiotics, anesthesia products, etc.), a threshold that rises to 95% for biomedicines. To respond to these shortages, a list of two hundred and eighty-one “critical” drugs, the production of which is likely to be relocated, was given to François Braun in mid-May. Expected by the sector, its content should be published on Tuesday.