Given the persistent difficulties in the supply of amoxicillin, the National Agency for Medicines Safety (Ansm) authorized pharmacists at the end of December to issue their own preparations when certain medicines are missing, this “exceptionally and temporarily”.
In the Ansm recommendation, it is, for example, amoxicillin in 125 mg and 250 mg, an antibiotic “mainly prescribed on an outpatient basis in children,” explains the Agency. This medicine is used in the treatment of abscesses, pneumonia or otitis.
For rappel, la pénurie d’amoxicilline, notamment pédiatrique, ne vient pas d’un manque de matière premiere, “on a surtout a problem aujourd’hui de fabrication du medicament fini”, avait explained on BFMTV Fabien Bruno, pharmacien d’officine in Paris.
By having direct access to the raw material, French pharmacists can prepare their own capsules.
A forty of pharmacies authorized to prepare it
Preparing pharmacists are “specialized in the manufacture of custom-made medicines,” explains Sébastien Gallice, president of PREF (Pharmaciens des Préparatoires de France) to BFMTV.com. He gives the example of children who “don’t always have the right dose of medication for them.”
His job is then to remeasure the treatment on a smaller scale for his young patient, we speak of “master preparation.”
These pharmacies “deliver to their colleagues” normally for certain needs, explains Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of French Pharmaceutical Unions (FSPF), “it is a common method. On the other hand, the fact that they manufacture amoxicillin, is new, And not everyone can do it.
Among the pharmacies that today in France make these magisterial preparations, only about forty are approved to attack amoxicillin.
A substance “particular to handle”
In fact, this substance is “particular to handle, you should not inhale it, work it under a specific hood and prevent it from spreading to other preparations”, because it presents risks and could cause resistance to antibiotics, details Sébastien Gallice, who equipped his pharmacy in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône).
“We must respect the manufacturing and quality processes,” explains Françoise El Kouri, a pharmacist in Orvault (Loire-Atlantique), to France 3. “Amoxicillin is manufactured under a fume hood, so it requires adequate facilities and well-protected personnel, but we know how to do it, and we also do it for many other molecules.”
The manufactured compound is an open capsule, the contents of which can be mixed with food. However, a leaflet should be provided to patients with the product, to explain how to take it.
“Lots of Overtime”
Sébastien Gallice says he is “proud” to be able to help contain a public health problem, even though this work represents a surplus for him and his teams because “there is a lot of overtime, it is important work that requires daily reorganization.”
“We work 2 to 3 hours overtime, not really for money but for the common good,” a Parisian pharmacist also explains to the newspaper. the echoes.
Thousands of capsules are produced every day. “It is estimated that 30% of the treatments can be exceeded” with this artisanal production, explains Sébastien Gallice, “potentially 50%”. Manufactured products are tracked and “there are periodic tests,” he says.
Renaud Nadjahi, president of the URPS Pharmaciens d’Île-de-France, recalls that pharmacists have demonstrated their ability to make preparations in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, for example by manufacturing hydroalcoholic gel. “They are very reactive”, abounds Philippe Besset.
“We are not going to replace industries”
“It is very interesting to have this force available in our territory that allows us to overcome the emergency,” adds the pharmacist.
The goal is not to produce these medicines in the long term. “We are not going to replace industries,” says Sébastien Gallice. He explains that the price of this artisanal drug is higher than that produced in bulk, and that it is produced faster and faster at an industrial level. In his pharmacy, “it’s done by hand,” he recalls.
“As long as the industry works, there is no reason,” Renaud Nadjahi abounds.
The fear of pharmacists is that these shortages will multiply in the coming months. Paracetamol is still under pressure, especially in its pediatric form, but all classes of drugs are affected by stock shortages or supply strains.
Source: BFM TV
