Josacine, an antibiotic used against various infectious diseases, will soon disappear from pharmacies because its only manufacturer is stopping production, health authorities announced on Monday, in a context already marked by the shortage of multiple treatments.
The Astellas laboratory “
has decided to stop the marketing of all presentations of the specialty Josacine
”, declared in a press release the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM).
Molecule unavailable in France
Josacine is the trade name of an antibiotic that uses the molecule josamycin.
This is used against various infectious diseases affecting the lungs, throat, sinuses... However, "
no other specialty based on josamycin is available in France
", warns the ANSM, while the last stocks should run out in March.
This judgment is the result of a choice by the manufacturer, which motivated it by an “
industrial decision
” without further details.
The safety and effectiveness of the drug are not in question.
The group assured that it had planned a plan to allow the presence for several more years of the Josacine in the stalls.
But, in the current context of antibiotic shortages, stocks have been emptied much more than expected.
Physicians and pharmacists can turn to recent recommendations from the main infectious disease societies, which have assessed how best to replace Josacine with treatments from the same family.
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This medicine is, moreover, linked in people's minds to the "
Poisoned Josacine
" affair, which saw the death of a child and was based on suspicions of cyanide poisoning of a bottle of this antibiotic.
But the safety of the treatment itself has never been disputed.