Since January 1, the delisting of homeopathy, initiated two years ago by the government under the leadership of Agnès Buzyn, then Minister of Health, is effective.
And the blow is hard for the Lyon laboratory Boiron, world leader in homeopathy, which has also taken the Covid-19 crisis head-on.
“With this smear campaign, which has led some doctors to ease off prescriptions, and the health crisis that has penalized the market for colds, coughs and flu, we have lost more than 100 million euros in two years, announces Valérie Lorentz-Poinsot, CEO of Boiron, our turnover has increased from 617 million euros to 513 million euros.
The consequences on employment are significant: 550 redundancies and the closure of thirteen sites in France.
This is already the case for Belfort and Pau.
It will be Brest's turn at the end of the week ...
However, from its ultramodern headquarters in Messimy (Rhône), in the west of Lyon, the almost century-old family business aims to be “resilient”.
No way to let yourself be defeated.
Boiron continues to develop new homeopathic treatments, launches into probiotics and… therapeutic cannabis.
In France, unlike many other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the production and distribution of cannabis-based products are strictly prohibited, but yet Boiron sees this as a market of the future in which she wants to position herself.
“I've been thinking about the benefits of this plant for four years,” says the general manager, recalling that it was part of the Boiron nomenclature and was used in homeopathy before being banned in the late 1970s.
A large study on 3000 patients
This is how Boiron has just joined forces with the European group Emmac Life Sciences, based in Great Britain and which already produces cannabis in Portugal and packages it in Spain.
With five other producer-distributor couples selected by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), Boiron will participate, for two years, in the large study on 3000 patients, launched by the French government on medical cannabis.
"These products, which are already used in many countries, are very useful for relieving pain in oncology, chronic pain, patients suffering from epilepsy, or even in palliative care", explains pharmacist Jean-Christophe Bayssat, director deputy general of the Boiron laboratories.
"This study will involve testing different dosages of THC and CBD
(Editor's note: two chemicals present in the plant)
".
"It is a very precious plant, but it must be handled with care because of the side effects", underlines Valérie Lorentz-Poinsot, pleading for the organization of serious and recognized players in this market.
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"Therapeutic cannabis, I'm just waiting for that"
By participating in this first experiment, Boiron hopes to position itself upstream as a “quality player” in a future French cannabis-based drug industry.
“We are betting on the future, we are preparing ourselves,” explains Valérie Lorentz-Poinsot, betting on the opening of the French market, which would allow it to also expand internationally.
But also to reintroduce cannabis in its homeopathic doses.