Drug shortage: Braun promises a return to normal "within two weeks"

While France has been suffering for weeks from a shortage of drugs, in particular the antibiotic amoxicillin, the Minister of Health François Braun promised Friday the "return to a normal situation within two weeks", on Europe 1.

“Yesterday evening, I met with the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, the entire sector (…) to say: never again, this shortage of essential drugs during a winter period”.

“We will come back in the next two weeks to a month of additional stock of amoxicillin,” he said, confirming the upcoming delivery to pharmacies of one million vials of this antibiotic.

"We have recovered stocks of paracetamol, so we are out of this period of crisis in the next two weeks," added the minister.

More than one million boxes on three references

These future deliveries are explained, according to him, by “the work done by the manufacturers, who have activated the entire production chain”.

“Pharmacists will receive 750,000 additional boxes of amoxicillin delivered by Biogaran from February 6,” the generics laboratory told AFP.

“In total for the month of February, we are going to distribute 1,090,000 boxes over three references,” he added.

For several months, tensions have weighed on the supply of medicines.

Two products, widely used by the French, concentrate the concerns: the pediatric versions of paracetamol and amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic in the country, mainly to treat angina and infantile otitis.

Read alsoShortage of drugs: behind the scenes of the manufacture of amoxicillin in pharmacies

The Minister of Health now intends to “prevent the effects of shortages”.

He asked "for the month of June" to the sector to establish "the list of all essential drugs".

The government wants to be able to quickly identify in the future "all the places where there may be problems", he said.

“We are anticipating next winter, even if it means making preliminary stocks,” he underlined.

He also wants to launch "a drug plan", so as to prevent any future crisis.