Now it exists. For the first time, a drug against alcoholism, based on baclofen, has just been officially authorized in France. Prescribed illegally for years, this controversial molecule, usually used as a muscle relaxant, had finally received temporary authorization in 2014. But since Monday, a treatment, called "Baclocur", specially dedicated to addiction to alcohol and reimbursed, finally arrived on the market.
After years of controversy, this is hope for 3 million French people. "Like many others, it is not a miracle pill but it is the only effective in proportions that remain to be defined, reacts William Lowenstein, president of the federation SOS Addictions. It allows us to escape the tyranny of abstinence of which we know the poor results. Alcoholism is the reverse of the phrase When you want you can. There you want but you cannot. For many patients, this treatment has changed their lives, cutting off their urge to drink.
Insufficient dosage for severe addictions
So does this new tablet mark the end of a medical saga that has been going on for over ten years? Not sure. "This is absolutely not good news", fulminates Christine, 43 years old (the first name has been changed) , on Baclofen since 2011 and furious against the maximum dosage, set at 80 mg per day.
Indeed, its marketing remains limited while doctors and patients deem this quantity insufficient to treat moderate and severe addictions. In 2017, a study of health insurance, which had put wind up several addictologists, evoked increased risks of hospitalization and death at high doses, from where the restrictions taken by the agency of the drug.
But according to Christine, a tolerance applied until now. “As part of the temporary authorization, I arrived at the pharmacy with my 160 mg prescription and I was entitled to be reimbursed. Now it will be up to 80 mg and the rest I will have to take it out of my pocket. It's crazy! We are talking about side effects but the only ones linked to alcohol are the 45,000 deaths per year. "
To keep an effective treatment, Christine has already found a combination. "My doctor will give me two prescriptions of 80 mg, one for my husband, who obviously does not need it and one for me, it will be the only solution to have the right dosage, my 10 tablets in the morning and 5 l 'afternoon. "
"Otherwise I would be dead or in a bad state"
At first, Christine, who drank a liter of vodka per day and half a liter of wine to drown her "couple and anxiety problems", even went up to 250 mg. "Without that, I would be dead or in a bad state," says the woman who, alone with her little boy, has never been able to undergo drug treatment. “Today, I only drink one beer in the evening, I have a normal life. The president of the Baclohelp collective, Thomas Maës-Martin, is also furious at this restriction.
“It is as if we told diabetics, insulin will now be reimbursed only for the least serious patients. For people with low alcohol dependence, we are happy but for others, we are revolted! It is by no means a victory. ”
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To obtain the return of a maximum dosage of 300 mg, the founder of the association has filed an action for annulment and an interim suspension, currently being examined by the administrative court of Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d'Oise ). The judges are due to rule on Tuesday on the issue of suspension. As long as it is in progress, the drug agency tells us that it cannot express itself.