France Presents Plan to Reshore Pharmaceutical Production
- 15/06/2023
- News
The French government presented on 13 June 2023 its plan to reshore the production of essential medicines (see, attached press file). Its reshoring plan (RP) forms part of a much broader effort to make sure that patients obtain access to “all” health products, including innovative medicines and medical devices as well as established or “mature” medicines whose supply has suffered disruptions or may be subject to future shortages.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention established a list of 450 essential medicines that includes 50 products whose local production must be reinforced or created. 25 medicines in that group already form the subject of concrete investment decisions by private firms with government backing. The press file describes 8 such projects that will be launched in the coming weeks and benefit from EUR 160 million in state aid. They cover a range of products such as the active ingredients for neuromuscular blocking agents used in intensive care treatments, the active ingredients and final product of morphine, six oncological medicines, and the antibiotic amoxicillin.
France’s RP is a precursor for the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) whose idea Belgium launched in May 2023 (see, Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News And Insights, 4 May 2023). The CMA quickly gained traction among a wide group of Member States, received further support from suppliers of generic products, biosimilars and pharmaceutical ingredients, and will be a priority of the Spanish government when it presides over the Council of the EU during the second half of 2023
