There is no risk of shortage of paracetamol, assures the federation of pharmacists

While stocks of Doliprane are running out in some pharmacies, Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France, wants to be reassuring. In an interview with France Bleu, Thursday April 21, he affirms that there is no question of “shortage” and that'”there is nothing to worry about”. According to Sanofi, the Doliprane 1000 capsule is missing but it will be available again in June.

>> France will start producing paracetamol again in 2023

franceinfo: Regarding Doliprane, can we talk about a shortage?

Philippe Besset: No, there is currently tension on painkillers linked to high consumption due to the Covid epidemic concomitant with an influenza epidemic. We have a lot of infectious pathologies this year, which leads to the consumption of paracetamol. The Omicron variant sends few people to the hospital but there is fever and headaches which are relieved by paracematol. This means that some forms of paracetamol may be missing in pharmacies, but your pharmacist can advise you and there is no problem in pharmacies for Doliprane treatment today. There is nothing to worry about.

Is this the first time that we have faced such tensions in France?

This can happen, because it can happen that a factory is faulty or that a batch is withdrawn or that an excipient is missing for the manufacture. Now there are enough brands to satisfy demand without difficulty. If ever we were to observe strong tension over a long period of time, it would be necessary either to increase the calibration of the factories, or to carry out strategic stocks to avoid peaks in demand.

How does the manufacturer, Sanofi, justify these tensions?

They are very transparent. they explain to us that the Doliprane 1000 capsule is missing and will come back in June, but we have the doliprane 100 tablet for example. The reason they give us is therefore the high consumption.