Thousands of diabetic patients again undergo their treatment in France. In a press release published on Tuesday, August 12, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) reported supply tensions in Europe for two preferential insulin cartridges of the Danish laboratory Novo Nordisk.
The voltages refer to the FIASP Pumpart and Novorapid Pumpart cartridges in the dose of 100 units/ml, which are “specifically compatible with the YPSOPump MyLife insulin pump of the manufacturer Ypsomed,” specifies the ANSM. According to their scarcity board, the first alerts date back to early July.
According to the Novo Nordisk laboratory, tensions are expected until the end of 2025 for these injectable solutions used to treat diabetes in adults, adolescents and children, the ANSM said.
The European Medicines Agency had already reached the emergency in May.
To reserve actions for already treated patients, Novo Nordisk asked prescribers not to initiate new treatments with FIASP or PUMPTART NOVORAPID until the end of the difficulties of supplying cartridges.
The ANSM asks doctors to “stop the treatment initiations with the YPSOPump bomb as long as the situation persists” and adapt the recipe with “fast or ultra fast insulin bottles” to fill the bomb tank.
However, in May, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had already drawn the Sonet alarm. “All member states where the product is marketed are currently affected or risk to be affected by the intermittent shortage” of Fiasp Pumpart and Novorapid, warned, citing Austria, Belgium, Republic Czeca, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal Slovenia, Portugal Slovenia, Portugal Slovenia, Portugal Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Do not worry (for the moment) for the risk of scarcity this winter
This risk of shortage reported by the ANSM on Tuesday is added to the worsening of supply tensions in psychotropic drugs. Last week, the agency indicated that quetiapina, prescribed to patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders or depression, would only be available at least until the beginning of the school year, due to a production delay. This medicine has been subject to shortage for almost a year.
However, at the beginning of August, the ANSM also shared reassuring observations, as part of the winter plan currently in preparation to prevent the risks of scarcity in the middle of the winter virus traffic season, responsible for the flu, bronchiolitis or even COVID-19. “Drug availability is guaranteed,” he said in a statement published on August 1.
Source: BFM TV
