Orange with Media Services, published on Friday, April 22, 2022 at 3:03 p.m.
Pierre-Olivier Variot, the president of the Union of community pharmacists (USPO), confirmed with The Midi Dispatch Thursday April 21 that “there is (was) a shortage”. The two most disruptive products are the 1,000 mg capsules and the children’s Liquiz.
One of the stars of this pandemic is being desired.
In many pharmacies, Doliprane, a drug containing paracetamol as the main active ingredient, is out of stock in 1,000 mg capsule and Liquiz, its pediatric form, while demand remains very strong. A mother had to do “four pharmacies before finding any. The first three had no more in stock”, she explained to The Midi Dispatch. Still with the local media, Pierre-Olivier Variot, the president of the Union of community pharmacists (USPO), confirmed that“there is a shortage and the two most disruptive products are the 1,000 mg capsules and the children’s Liquiz. Fortunately, the syrup with the measuring pipette came back but there was also a shortage.” For its part, Sanofi, manufacturer of Doliprane, has recognized “tensions” for several months, justifying them by “an unprecedented increase in demand in pharmacy”.
Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF), provided explanations on the antenna of BFM Business : “There is indeed a high demand for paracetamol and Doliprane for two years. And it has increased further with the winter flu epidemic”. He nevertheless added that these shortages do not concern the 500 mg boxes, nor for Doliprane in tablets. Nor even for two other drugs containing paracetamol, the Dafalgan and the Efferalgan : “there are plenty”, promised the FSPF.
Covid-19: paracetamol to be preferred
Against the fight against the symptoms of Covid-19, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran had advised in March 2020 to give preference to paracetamol in case of fever, because “taking anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, cortisone, etc.) could be a factor in aggravating the infection”. In the process, the WHO recommended that people with symptoms similar to those of Covid-19 not take ibuprofen for self-medication, without a medical prescription. For its part, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had stressed that “there is currently no no scientific evidence establishing a link between ibuprofen and the aggravation of Covid-19″.
In addition to Covid-19, the flu epidemic, unusually late this year for the season, is flowing back to mainland France, including for the first time for deaths, according to the weekly report from Public Health France, published on Wednesday April 20. “Although declining, influenza indicators were still at high levels marking a still intense circulation of influenza viruses in parallel with SARS-CoV-2 “the past week, observed the health agency. Public Health France reaffirms the importance of barrier gestures and vaccination, especially for those most at risk, the elderly in mind.
France will start producing paracetamol again in 2023
From 2023, France will start manufacturing paracetamol on its soil again, according to the pharmaceutical subcontractor Seqens in June 2021, on the occasion of the launch of a new factory intended to ensure this production on its Roussillon site (Isère). This announcement comes a year after the presentation by President Emmanuel Macron of a strategy intended to relocate the entire production chain of this molecule within three years. The production of this new factory, with a capacity of 10,000 tons per year, is absorbed by the pharmaceutical groups Sanofi (Doliprane) and Upsa (Efferalgan) which until then were content to package in France the active ingredient of this drug imported from ‘Asia.
The amount of investment required, which is supported by the France Relance plan, has not been made public. World leader in aspirin, Seqens is also a major manufacturer of paracetamol with two factories in China. A nod to history, Seqens noted that the Roussillon platform was the last site in France to produce paracetamol. The factory had been closed in 2008 by its then owner, the chemical group Rhodia.