Dolipran, Beyfortus… Sanofi wants to reassure us about the risk of drug shortages.

The Sanofi group president wants to reassure about drug shortages, while health authorities were concerned about multiple drug shortages in the winter of 2022-2023. About “1% of the portfolio” of drugs produced by Sanofi “is currently out of stock,” said Audrey Derveloy, Sanofi’s president at RTL.

Today, “one in six boxes coming from pharmacists is a Sanofi product” and “there is 1% of that portfolio that is in a shortage situation today,” she said, adding that the group is working to prevent that shortage. “We are working on this, this is our job, you should trust us too.”

However, she acknowledged that there may be “periods of tension” but “there are mechanisms in place that we are working on with health authorities,” she continued. “For example, we are limiting stocks” of products under stress, particularly by limiting the number of boxes each patient can buy, or “we are working with other laboratories to help them import alternative molecules into French territory,” she detailed. If a patient can’t find their medication, “the pharmacist can call us and we can deliver it within 48 hours,” she added.

There will be no problems”

Regarding Beyfortus, a prophylactic against bronchiolitis for infants that is currently reserved for maternity hospitals pending new supplies, she recalled that “200,000 doses have been secured” for France. “We are working to get additional doses. I met with the minister this week and told him again that we will be able to exceed that 200,000 doses,” she said.

The leader also promised that there would be “no problems” with the availability of doliprane. “The factories in Lisieux and Compiegne work 24 hours a day, so let’s all be responsible. We don’t have overstock,” she explains. She confirmed that Dolipran production will continue in Lisieux (Normandy). “Not only will we continue to produce it, but in addition, the 20 million we invested in this facility will allow us to make 140 million additional boxes,” she said.