With the Covid epidemic in China where certain medical products have been requisitioned, supply tensions on paracetamol-based drugs raise fears of risks to stocks in pharmacies in France. Faced with this situation, a decree published this Wednesday in the Official Journal in France provides for the suspension of their sale by Internet until January 31.
Indeed China, which is the world’s leading producer of paracetamol-based drugs, has to deal with a lack of personnel in Chinese factories. In addition, to meet the needs of its population, the country has requisitioned productions from a dozen companies for its domestic market and with stricter rules on exports.
The question of relocating production to France
In mid-December, the French Ministry of Health had already recognized that a return to normal would take “a little time to normalize”. The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) then implemented several measures to respond to the tensions, including the search for sources of imports and the obligation for manufacturers of amoxicillin and paracetamol to sell their products directly to pharmaceutical distributors in order to promote a fairer distribution in France. For several months, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) has already asked pharmacists to ration the sale of paracetamol to each patient.
Questioned in December before the Senate, the Minister of Health François Braun had estimated that “the Covid crisis increases a prescription modification of 13% for paracetamol. There are concerns about the active principle”, referring to “the interest of repatriating this active principle to France and Europe”.
In 2020, Emmanuel Macron announced a relocation of paracetamol production to France, with the construction of a Seqens factory in Isère. The production will be launched in early 2026 with greater ambitions. Objective: 15,000 tonnes of production per year.