Pharmaceutical sovereignty in France and Europe: a priority and ambitions

In 10 years, France has dropped from first to fifth place among European drug producers

In a report published on June 23, 2021, the members of the parliamentary information mission on medicines conclude that "France is in a situation of heavy dependence on foreign countries". 70% of the active ingredients used in medicines are produced abroad, mainly in China. France produces only 6% of its active ingredients for life-saving drugs, known as "drugs of major therapeutic interest".

On a European scale, 80% of active ingredient production sites are located outside Europe, mainly in China and India. In the 90s, however, Europe produced 80% of the active ingredients it used. On the other hand, European countries are less dependent on the final stages of drug production, such as tablet coating and packaging. 

Emmanuel Macron has pledged to relocate the production of 50 essential medicines that are sometimes unavailable in pharmacies. This commitment was already made during the Covid crisis, with the aim of restoring France's health autonomy. A list of 25 molecules to be relocated has already been drawn up, including antibiotics, anticancer drugs and medicines used in intensive care or for chronic conditions.

The announcement primarily concerns chemical molecules, which will not be enough to put France back on the European pharma league table. Today, the treatments of the future are essentially based on biotechnologies.

They represent a quarter of the global drug market, with 320 billion euros expected by 2025. In December 2020, a report by the Strategic Committee for the Healthcare Sector estimated that of the 167 biotherapies approved by the European Medicines Agency, only eight were produced in France!

France has stepped up its investments to recreate a fertile breeding ground for drug production: one billion euros for healthcare research, five accredited bio-clusters, fourteen hospital clusters of excellence (IHU). In addition, the Plan will also release 800 million euros with a call for projects currently underway in the fields of biotherapies and bio-production.

According to the Chairman of France Biotech, half the value of new treatments lies in the ability to produce them under the right conditions. Taking charge of breakthrough innovations while having the capacity to finance them, and reducing development times and costs: this is the secret of reindustrialization for tomorrow's pharma industry. An ambitious challenge, to say the least.

‍

‍