Question 15532 — pharmacy and medications

Summary

Mr. Stéphane Peu draws the attention of the Minister of Solidarity and Health to the shortage of medicines. Sanofi France has just announced 750 new job cuts, while the group has already cut 4,000 jobs across all professions, not counting the sale of activities (Mérial, Zentiva). These 4,000 job cuts represent a shortfall of 100 million euros annually in contributions for the various social security funds. However, a senatorial report published in October 2018 reveals that 530 “essential” medications were missing from patients in France last year. The cause of these shortages or stock shortages is known: the group's industrial choices entirely dedicated to the incessant search for financial profitability. One of the first sources of disruption comes from supply problems with the majority of active ingredients. medicines. The origin of these problems comes from the massive outsourcing of their production to China and India, for reasons of lower manufacturing costs. The generalization of subcontracting and the precariousness of employment contracts undermine the quality and security of supplies. The State must be more restrictive in order to force Sanofi and other laboratories to assume their responsibility in matters of health public. It is a demand from citizens. The pharmaceutical industry should be under the control of public authorities. Medical professions, civil society, employees should have their say. Especially since Sanofi is a champion of draining public funds: in 2017 Sanofi made 35 billion euros in turnover, returned 5.8 billion to its shareholders, while the State paid approximately 150 million tax credit including 130 million research tax credit. Also, he asks how the Government intends to force Sanofi and other laboratories (independently of the strengthening of the AP-HP central pharmacy) to fulfill their obligations to provide patients with “essential” medicines, which, according to the WHO definition, must be permanently available in sufficient quantities. Finally, he wants to know how the The Government intends to force the same laboratories to stop cutting jobs and activities in France, which are disrupting this supply and compromising the future of pharmaceutical research in France.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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