Macron promises to bring pharmaceutical production 'back home' to France

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to relocate the production of 50 key pharmaceutical drugs, 25 of them - in the coming weeks - to tackle an ongoing shortage of medicines in France.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during his visit at the Aguettant pharmaceutical laboratory during a visit on the theme of the relocation of drugs production in Champagne on June 13, 2023. AFP - ERIC GAILLARD

Emmanuel Macron announced that the production of some 50 drugs would be relocated to French territory, half of them "in the coming weeks".

Speaking from the site of the Aguettant laboratory in the Ardèche region on Tuesday, he described shortages and difficulty in accessing vital treatment as "unacceptable".

A March survey by pollsters BVA found 37 percent of people had already run into shortages at the pharmacy.

Up to 80 percent of familiar medications like antibiotics and painkillers used in France are produced abroad, especially in China.

Some of the drugs are still made in France, but at volumes that fail to match demand.

"As the Covid crisis had already taught us, delegating the production of our essential pharmaceutical products to others is a dead end for the country. The solution to avoiding a shortage in pharmacy stocks is to rebuild our factories," Macron said.

He cited the active ingredients of morphine, amoxicillin and six anti-cancer drugs among the production targets.

"The British group GSK is going to invest €22 million on its Mayenne site" (in Western France) he stated. This will include upgrading its existing production units, as well as a recruitment plan.

Nous investissons plus de 160 millions d’euros pour renforcer notre souveraineté sanitaire et relocaliser en France la production de nos médicaments essentiels. pic.twitter.com/3x6Ap3Tq4M

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 13, 2023

'Nothing concrete'

However, his announcements on Tuesday were considered "dogmatic" by some critics, notably the Observatory of transparency in drug policies (OTMeds).

"No progress in transparency is announced (...) No public production is announced (...) His announcements have nothing concrete", OTMeds wrote in a statement.

"538 shortages were reported to the drug agency in 2017 when Emmanuel Macron took over the presidency against more than 3000 at the start of 2023. The president's storytelling has reached its limits," Pauline Londeix, co-founder of OTMeds told France Info on Tuesday. 

She says medicines and health products should not be treated like ordinary consumer products that are dependent on the logic of the market, profits and intellectual property rules.

According to OTMeds, Macron "continues to write blank checks to private groups, which are nevertheless directly responsible for the situation and the relocation".

"Since the start of the war in Ukraine, we have been warning about the geopolitical risks of depending on China and India for the production of active ingredients. It is urgent to get out of this dependence to ensure our health security," Londeix said. 

'Tripledemic'

Last December, hospitals in France came under pressure from a rising number of patients as the country faced a "tripledemic" of Covid-19, influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis in young children.

The medicines regulator ANSM said that there had been "strong supply tensions" for the version of the amoxicillin (penicillin) and paracetamol used for children and pharmacies were urged to find substitutes and limit their prescriptions.

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The goal Macron has referred to as "pharmaceutical sovereignty" will require a total investment of more than €160 million of public money.

The 50 drugs flagged by Macron are among a list of 450 drawn up by the health ministry for which "we must absolutely secure our supply chains, either by completely re-shoring or diversifying (supply) and continuing to innovate," the president said.

Macron pointed to a global winding down of France's industry in the past 40 years, that had lead to "excessive dependence" on outside sources. This applied to not only pharmaceuticals, but many other sectors.

"The only solution for us is therefore to locate our strategic sectors in France".

Tuesday's announcements mark the first step in a week dedicated to industrial projects, which Macron hopes will move public attention on from the battles over his widely-disliked pension reform.