Losartan, a drug against hypertension, less and less supplied in France

For each problem there is a solution. Losartan, a drug used in particular against arterial hypertension, is the subject of supply difficulties in France. To cope with this, pharmacists may exceptionally be able to substitute other treatments based on similar molecules in the coming months, the French drug authority announced on Wednesday October 27.

This measure, taken “on an exceptional and temporary basis”, will apply if the patient gives the pharmacist a prescription for losartan, if it is not in stock and if the patient cannot see their doctor immediately. “These recommendations are applicable in this context of tension and until a return to a satisfactory level of supply of losartan, potentially at the beginning of 2022”, specifies in a press release the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM).

These treatments fight high blood pressure. More broadly, they are also prescribed for heart failure and to prevent kidney failure in diabetics.

The problem of stocks arises from the fact that an unwanted substance, “an azide-type impurity”, has been detected in some batches of medicinal products. The laboratories concerned, not identified by the ANSM, have blocked or recalled them, thus reducing the offer to pharmacists.