2023-12-06 12:04:01
The bronchiolitis epidemic, which mainly affects babies, continues to progress in France. At the end of November, the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, announced the order for “50,000 new additional doses” from Sanofi to “last the winter season in maternity wards”.
But the pharmaceutical giant has been clear with 20 Minutes : “We will not be able to go beyond 50,000 additional doses”. “Beyfortus is a treatment based on monoclonal antibodies and its production is more complex and requires more time than for a vaccine,” explains the French company.
“Within a few days, the treatment was no longer available”
The government had initially ordered 200,000 doses of nirsevimab, or Beyfortus, developed and marketed jointly by Sanofi and AstraZeneca: 145,000 doses of 50 mg and 55,000 doses of 100 mg. “But the enthusiasm was such that in a few days, the treatment was no longer available,” indicates Dr. Sylvie Hubinois, pediatrician and former president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (AFPA).
Preventive treatment of bronchiolitis is now a victim of its own success. This does not prevent the epidemic from continuing to progress. Of the thirteen French regions, twelve were in the epidemic phase and Corsica in the pre-epidemic last Wednesday.
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