To deal with the shortage of medicines, the Prime Minister summoned several large pharmaceutical companies and threatened them with sanctions if they did not manage their stocks better and did not inform the public authorities upstream.

The state shows the muscles against pharmaceutical labs. Several industrialists were summoned on Thursday by the Prime Minister. In the viewfinder, drug shortages.

Shortages are increasing, they are 20 times more numerous today than 20 years ago. Vaccines, corticosteroids, anticancer drugs, even some antibiotics are regularly missing. It has become a public health problem. One in four French people has ever been confronted with a shortage of medicines. The Prime Minister has therefore asked the laboratories to better manage their stocks and better inform the public authorities upstream. Otherwise, there will be financial penalties that will be voted in the next Social Security budget.

Why are there so many drug shortages in France?

All of Europe is affected. The heart of the problem comes from the fact that production has moved from Europe and the industrialized countries to Asia. As a result, Europe has lost competence in fine chemicals, it depends more and more on Asian producers, often Chinese. However, when they encounter a problem of quality or raw material, this quickly translates into shortages in our pharmacies. As for very innovative products (for example, anticancer drugs), this is another problem. We depend almost exclusively, even 100% in some cases, on the United States. The drug industry is strategic, it is time for Europe to realize it.