According to the France Assos Santé barometer, 37% of French people have faced a shortage of drugs in pharmacies this year. This is eight points more than in 2022. Paracetamol, a pediatric version of the antibiotic amoxicillin, some 3,000 molecules were missing this winter, reports the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). If, for certain drugs, the situation has improved, it is getting worse for other molecules. And sometimes, it is even heavier treatments that come to disappear from the stalls of pharmacies.
Imagine. Your kid has epileptic seizures, except when he takes Sabril. Imagine. The Sabril has been out of stock for weeks and your box will soon be empty. Imagine. Say, @SanofiFR, can you tell us the rest of this beautiful story?
Such is the case with Sabril, a drug used to help control various forms of epilepsy. Presented in the form of granules for oral solution, vigabatrin is experiencing a supply tension for an indefinite period, as confirmed by the ANSM. Difficulties reported in a Twitter post by journalist Giulia Foïs, whose child suffers from epileptic seizures. "Imagine. Your kid has epileptic seizures, except when he takes Sabril. Imagine. The Sabril has been out of stock for weeks and your box will soon be empty. Imagine. Say, @SanofiFR, can you tell us the rest of this beautiful story? His Twitter post has been viewed over 359,000 times.
At the age of 20 months, the little boy was the victim of a serious accident. Now six years old, he is slowly rebuilding and must follow strict treatment to prevent the onset of epileptic seizures. "We are lucky because the right treatment has been found for our son. It is a very skilful cocktail between the right molecule and the right dosage. Taken at a fixed time twice a day, it prevents the onset of epileptic seizures which tire the brain enormously. It's like a chemical blanket, an anti-crisis shield, "sums up the mother.
But, today, the situation is complicated. “Last month, our pharmacist managed to put two boxes aside for us. In ten days, we won't have any more treatment for our son. We don't have any information about the sequel, we don't know anything. On Twitter, some netizens recommend switching to a generic or changing treatment, but of course the solution is far from being so simple: "There is no generic and the replacement is not easy, because there are interactions to respect, a balance to find. With each change, several weeks are needed to achieve weaning and reacclimatization of the brain. »
To find Sabril, Giulia Foïs mobilized her entire family, who scour pharmacies all over France. “Our pharmacist filled out a contact form directly sent to the Sanofi laboratory to collect boxes. I also contacted the specialist who follows my son at the Necker hospital, there may be stocks in the hospitals where it is possible to obtain Sabril. An Indian laboratory also produces this drug in the form of tablets, we are exploring all avenues. It's urgent. »
By the end of May, an interministerial working steering committee between the Ministries of Health and Industry must identify a list of so-called strategic drugs for health. "A white drug plan, which can be activated in the event of an exceptional situation, requiring strong measures to be taken to secure the care of our fellow citizens, will be prepared", announced the Minister of Health, François Braun, last February.
On its website, the Sanofi laboratory claims not to "be able to communicate a precise date of return to normal supply" of the Sabril. To overcome the current difficulties, Sanofi ensures that "the distribution is carried out in a quantitative and qualitative quota way with pharmacies. Repairs will be granted on the basis of the attached application form. In the hospital, the distribution is quota quantitatively up to the needs usually observed ". Finally, the laboratory recommends reserving the granular form for oral solution for children and not starting new treatments with this drug.
