By Audrey Lecoq, Founding father of Pharmazon.
To stem the scarcity that has affected paracetamol-based medicines for months, the federal government determined, by decree revealed within the Official Journal of January four, 2023, to ban the net sale of those merchandise till January 31. A late determination “which is not going to clear up something”, which “creates a distortion of competitors with international websites” and “endangers French platforms” whereas “different options exist”, protests Audrey Lecoq, founding father of the Pharmazon on-line gross sales platform.
For a number of months now, paracetamol-based medicine have been going through a worldwide scarcity of their lively ingredient, produced primarily in India and China. The latter, affected by a violent resumption of the Covid, determined to dam exports with a purpose to meet its personal wants. Resolution which comes as France is confronted with a resumption of Covid-19, an increase within the flu epidemic and an explosion of bronchiolitis.
A call that solves nothing
Prohibiting the net sale of paracetamol medicine solely in France doesn’t clear up any drawback, believes Audrey Lecoq, who runs the net gross sales web site Pharmazon: “Prohibiting on-line gross sales solely to French distributors will solely favor platforms primarily based in France. overseas: Belgium, Holland or Germany. This distortion of competitors threatens French firms, predicts Audrey Lecoq who heads the platform primarily based in Orleans. I might resolve to maneuver the corporate headquarters to Belgium. Topic to European legislation, I might then have the correct to promote paracetamol all through Europe! Is that this what the federal government is in search of? “.
The answer should be European
For Audrey Lecoq who desires to remain in France, “The answer to the drug scarcity should be European. To be efficient, the choice to ban the net sale of sure merchandise should be taken for all EU nations. That might clear up a lot of the drawback. For the distribution of medicines, we should assume European as we speak. “, insists the younger entrepreneur.
Rehabilitate IbuprofenThere are alternate options to paracetamol, together with ibuprofen. “The issue, explains Audrey Lecoq, is that within the midst of Covid a research[1] whimsical questioned the protection of this molecule within the occasion of covid, all of the sudden shoppers turned away from it in favor of paracetamol. A 12 months later, she continues one other research, this one critical, has rehabilitated ibuprofen. However the injury was finished, ibuprofen by no means regained its pre-study gross sales degree and that of paracetamol exploded. The well being authorities should talk on the usage of this molecule which suffers virtually no scarcity.
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Higher anticipate wants
Through the confinement linked to Covid-19, the consumption of many medicine has decreased. Amongst them, amoxicillin, an primarily pediatric antibiotic. “Two years in the past, the professionals instructed me that we had two years of amoxicillin inventory due to this drop in consumption, stories Audrey Lecoq. Consequently, nobody thought to suggest it. As a consequence of an absence of orders, the producers discovered themselves in nice problem and turned to different productions. Therefore the scarcity of provide as we speak. Public authorities should anticipate these identified phenomena, manage higher monitoring of delicate merchandise,” suggests the founding father of Pharmazon.
Higher supervise sure laboratory practices
Alongside sure reimbursable medicine, laboratories have determined to supply their very own “umbrella” or “me-too” medicine. True copies of the primary, however whose value is just not administered/reimbursed, these merchandise are offered at a better value. For instance, there are copies of anti-stomachaches, syrups, and so forth. In occasions of scarcity of the molecules involved, some laboratories solely produce the “umbrella” variations. “It is way more worthwhile, notes Audrey Lecoq. These decisions should be prohibited when molecules are in brief provide. “, she says.
Drawback of the worth reimbursed in France
Over the course of the sharp reductions in costs imposed on laboratories for ten years to cut back the expenditure of Well being Insurance coverage, France has turn out to be the European nation which reimburses medicine the least properly. “Consequently, laboratories and producers want to go overseas or work for nations that higher reimburse their manufacturing,” says Audrey Lecoq, who means that France ought to assessment its pricing coverage “to turn out to be engaging once more”.
Take into consideration alternate options
Alongside paracetamol and ibuprofen, there are merchandise which are meant to reply to the identical illnesses. That is notably the case with sure important oils. The virtues of some in opposition to complications or sure pains, for instance, are identified. Merchandise accessible on the Pharmazon platform the place recommendation to be used doesn’t undergo from a scarcity…
