Question 8380 — pharmacy and medicines

Summary

Mr. Eric Liégeon draws the attention of the Minister to the Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, responsible for health and access to care, to the alarming situation of shortages of psychotropic medications in France. Indeed, since the fall of 2024, fourteen psychotropic molecules (such as quetiapine, sertraline, venlafaxine, lithium salt or injectable forms of olanzapine) have encountered very major supply tensions and the list of these essential molecules which have become untraceable is, to date, still substantial since as of June 23, 2025 seven references were still in very high tension. There are dozens of antidepressants, anxiolytics, neuroleptics and even certain mood stabilizers essential in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, which are today rarely available or even no longer available at all. available to patients. For example, more than half of pharmacies have less than a day's supply of key treatments for people with bipolar disorder or depression. Behind these supply tensions, thousands of patients find themselves in distress and weakened, faced with relapses and sometimes poorly tolerated substitution treatments, leading to acute decompensations and suffering. unbearable psychological conditions and ultimately an overload of already saturated psychiatric services. It would seem that the current shortage situation comes from the shutdown, in the fall of 2024, due to a quality defect, of a Greek factory leading to an interruption of production for the French market and leading to cascading losses of supply. For example, quetiapine – an antipsychotic prescribed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders – 60% of French supplies depended on this Greek factory. These supply shortages and difficulties are all the more worrying given that mental health has been declared a major national cause for the year 2025. Psychiatrists, doctors' unions and patient associations therefore strongly denounce this situation and are now awaiting a return to normal for the well-being of patients. In this context, he therefore asks what rapid actions he intends to implement to replenish the stocks of these essential medicines as quickly as possible, secure their supply and guarantee patients continuity of treatment essential to their stability. He also wishes to know whether, in the medium term, a more global reflection on the relocation of the production of so-called “medicines” essential", a key measure requested by the entire sector, is being studied, knowing that the French territory has the skills and manufacturers to do so.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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1. 8 July 2025

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• Eric Liégeon · auteur

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