"Without this medicine, I risk a stroke!": pharmacy stockout alert, patients and professionals testify
Prescription in hand, Monica exchanges a few words with the pharmacist across the counter. She knows it well: today again, she will leave without her precious Repatha, the medication prescribed to combat high cholesterol.
"I'm very upset," confides this woman from Nice. "And very angry. Even if it's not your fault..."
Anaël Antoine hears her, and understands. For three months now, she hasn't been able to meet the demand of this regular at the Barla pharmacy in Nice. It's not for lack of trying. "It's one of the medications that's in short supply," sighs the manager. "We request it every day. I regularly send messages to the wholesaler..."
But nothing works. Repatha is missing. As are hundreds of other products. And this shortage is affecting the whole of France, probably on an unprecedented scale. With palpable consequences for patients and pharmacies.
Monica is furious. She had found in Repatha a cure for her torments. She's been dealing with high cholesterol since the age of 30. "I was gaining weight, even though we don't run a large family. I had some tests done. They revealed a cholesterol level above normal."
Since then, this Nice native, modest about her age, has favored a healthy diet. No cold cuts, no cheese... Yet her cholesterol levels continued to soar. Until a doctor prescribed Repatha at the end of 2024. A shot every two weeks, to be administered herself, in addition to Ezetimibe/Atorvastatin.
"After so many years, my cholesterol had finally returned to normal." And then, bang!
The latest tests revealed that an atheromatous plaque had grown. A plaque formed on the inner wall of an artery, near the carotid artery, could rupture and cause a blood clot. This is why Monica is " very angry that this drug is out of stock. For me, it's vital. I'm at risk of a stroke!"
"1,250 references concerned"Repatha, Praluent, Pegasys... On the digital ordering platform used by Anaël Antoine, there are countless products in "supply tension." Even outright "out of stock." So much so that products in green appear to be in the minority. According to Raphaël Gigliotti, president of the Alpes-Maritimes pharmacists' union (FSPF), shortages are affecting 1,250 products. "We're reaching unprecedented levels!"
So what's wrong with the pharmaceutical market? Five years after the start of the pandemic, Covid-19 can no longer be held responsible for supply disruptions. Anaël Antoine, treasurer of the FSPF, attempts to identify the causes.
"In France, we are subject to quotas. However, demand has exploded. We are dealing with an aging population, which increasingly needs treatment. Prescriptions have been expanded for certain drugs. As a result, we are exceeding quotas. New drugs have emerged. And mature drugs—those that have been on the market for a long time and are the most prescribed—no longer allow us to reach profitability thresholds."
Consequences: major pharmaceutical companies would abandon less profitable drugs and focus on markets with higher prices. France would therefore be served after others... when a product is not sold out.
The race for the missing product"Today, we have the cheapest medicines in Europe," says Cyril Colombani, departmental president and national spokesperson for the Union Syndicale des Pharmaciens d'Officine (USPO). A pharmacist in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, he sees the difference with the neighboring market. "It's simple: what's out of stock in France isn't in Italy!"
Antidepressants, antidiabetics, antibiotics... Tensions are felt at every level, says Anaël Antoine. "Every day is a struggle! While for mature medications, you can contact your doctor and see if there are alternatives, there are also vital cases for which you are completely helpless."
From then on, patients no longer hesitate to visit pharmacies across the Côte d'Azur, and even beyond.
Anaël Antoine received a visitor from... Nantes. He had reserved the last box of the coveted medication at the Barla pharmacy. The problem: a customer in Cannes, already registered, took the same step. Stored in the refrigerator, the medication could not be set aside.
The Nantes customer arrived a few moments after the Cannes customer. Too late.
“Between 1.5 and 2.5 hours a day looking for medication”For Anaël Antoine and his teams, such situations are difficult to cope with. "We're here to ensure the continuity of treatment, not to say no! Otherwise, there's a real risk to life."
In Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, as in many pharmacies, Cyril Colombani's teams spend "between 1.5 and 2.5 hours a day searching for medication, particularly for mental illnesses. These situations are becoming increasingly complicated to manage at the counter." So close to the border, he no longer hesitates to refer patients in difficulty to Italian pharmacies.
In Nice, Monica tried her luck at another pharmacy. But she remains loyal to Barla Pharmacy. Feverishly hoping to see Repatha finally appear on the shelves. "Do you think it'll come back?"
The diagnosis came a month ago: "Diabetes." It turned Inès's life upside down. At 33, this Nice-based caregiver and mother of three had to undergo special treatment.
An additional problem: she finds herself "really in trouble, because quite a few medications are impossible to find, even in very large pharmacies."
Inès looked through a good half dozen of them, without success, before finding what she was looking for: Glucagen. A nasal spray that seemed like life insurance to her. "When you're hypoglycemic, it allows you to get your blood sugar back up if you're not able to. Without it, you could pass out, be drunk, and incoherent. It allows those around you to support you and avoid having to call the fire department."
"A lot of stress"Before finding her Glucagen kit, Inès felt "a lot of stress." But also "incomprehension. I'm even a little disgusted. I don't understand why such important medications are out of stock. I was just told that the manufacturer doesn't currently produce it."
Here she is, half reassured. "I'm looking for another one. It would be reassuring to have a second dose for the holidays..."
While searching for her Glucagen, Monica thought back to the day she searched in vain for Doliprane for her children. "One of them was sick, and they had to give me Dafalgan."
These recurring breakdowns raise questions for her. She notes that "we're paying more and more for health insurance. But medication coverage is decreasing."
State services responded to our requests through the ANSM (the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products).
Labs held to results"Pharmaceutical companies marketing a drug of major therapeutic interest (MITM) are required to ensure an appropriate and continuous supply to the national market, in order to cover patient needs," the ANSM points out. "They must build up a safety stock of all their drugs intended for the national market."
In the event of a stock shortage or risk, laboratories must report it to the ANSM, under penalty of financial penalties. They must also take measures to avoid or limit the shortage. Other measures may be taken, such as "importing specialties initially intended for abroad or adapting manufacturing conditions."
Fewer breakups in 2024While the current situation is worrying pharmacists, the ANSM recorded in 2024 "a decrease in reports of stockouts and risks" : 3,825 reports, compared to 4,925 in 2023, 3,761 in 2022 and 2,160 in 2021 (a medicine can be reported multiple times). In 2023, "40% of these reports required measures to ensure that patients' needs were met."
No category is safe"All classes of drugs are affected by these stock shortages or risks of stock shortages ," confirms the ANSM. "Among the drugs of major therapeutic interest, cardiovascular drugs, nervous system drugs, anti-infectives and anti-cancer drugs are particularly represented."
The ANSM identifies "multifactorial origins: difficulties during the manufacturing of raw materials or finished products, quality defects in medicines, insufficient production capacity, fragmentation of manufacturing stages, etc."
She specifies that "the 2024 social security financing law, promulgated at the end of 2023, makes it possible to strengthen the scope of action of health authorities, including the ANSM, to combat supply tensions."
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