Gauthier Delomez 5:40 p.m., January 17, 2023
Guest of the program "France moves" this Tuesday, the general manager of the Biogaran laboratories Jérôme Wirotius takes stock of the tensions in the supply of drugs in pharmacies, including amoxicillin.
The boss offers a solution to restock pharmacies, and believes that the price of drugs should be increased.
Faced with an increase in the demand for drugs, pharmacists have to deal with tensions on certain supplies, in particular concerning amoxicillin.
To help them, Jérôme Wirotius, general manager of Biogaran laboratories, proposes to reinforce the stocks of pharmacies.
Invited on Tuesday to the program
La France moves
, he asked "expressly" to the Medicines Agency and the Ministry of Health to use the security stock it has to deliver to pharmacies.
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“It would avoid feelings of panic and anxiety because there is the possibility of facing this situation”, he adds to the microphone of Elisabeth Assayag.
"Historic" increase in amoxicillin consumption
Drawing a parallel with the fuel shortage of last October, Jérôme Wirotius specifies that he wishes to develop the devices so that a buffer stock, which the laboratory has, "can be made available in the event of an emergency in certain pharmacies , as close as possible to the patients".
The general manager stresses that today, "the quotas are at 50% on amoxicillin" and that Biogaran, like other laboratories, must go through wholesalers to supply pharmacies.
The boss details in
France moves
that the consumption of amoxicillin has increased by 33% over 12 months in 2022, and that the laboratory is advancing a 51% increase in sales.
“A historic peak”, notes Jérôme Wirotius, due in particular to the triple epidemic.
A bottle "at 1.10 or 1.20 euro" instead of 76 cents
There is also a question of cost, notes the managing director of Biogaran who is sounding the alarm at the microphone of Europe 1. For example, a bottle of pediatric amoxicillin costs 76 euro cents.
Jérôme Wirotius is sorry to have to lower the prices of his products every year, even more in a period of inflation, and regrets the application of a state tax on generic drugs.
In the end, the boss of Biogaran warns of production at a loss.
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According to him, the prices set by the health authorities are too low.
The Director General says he has worked on a list of 160 drugs, with the Ministries of Economy and Health.
"These are products mainly made in France, of major therapeutic interest and therefore essential", he indicates, estimating that it would be necessary for example to raise the price of the bottle of amoxicillin from 76 cents "to 1.10- 1.20 euros".
"Today, we lose 20 cents each time we sell pediatric amoxicillin. (...) We must be able to support inflation on manufacturing costs, otherwise we will relocate", puts- he keeps it on Europe 1.