Nine out of ten pharmacies will be closed on Saturday August 16, the day of a mobilization against the drop in commercial discounts on the generics decreed by the government, a measure denounced as dangerous for the future of the pharmacy network, anticipates the Union of Unions of Pharmacists (USPO), Thursday, August 14.
“92 % of French pharmacies plan to close this Saturday, August 16”says the professional union behind this initiative. “In a large number of territories, 100 % of pharmacies will be closed”adds the USPO relying on a survey carried out from August 12 to 13 to which 4,500 pharmacies responded, 58 % of which are not members of the USPO.
Under the slogan “Close one day so as not to close forever”this action follows the government’s decision to reduce the ceiling of the generics, a measure acted by a decree published on August 6 at Official Journal. From 1is September, the discounts will be capped at 30 % maximum of the generic price, against 40 % currently. Other successive drops are scheduled to reach 20 % in 2027. The rebates granted by laboratories constitute an element of the remuneration of pharmacists, representing a third of their margin.
Declared to health insurance, they also allow the State to identify manufacturers who have granted discounts, in order to then impose price reductions for them and thus reduce health expenses.
“Immediate suspension of the decree”
The USPO requests “The immediate suspension of this decree, which seriously threatens the survival of thousands of local pharmacies”by threatening possible “Other new actions” in September. Pharmacists alert to a risk of worsening of drug shortages by encouraging laboratories to turn to more remunerative foreign markets for generics.
“It is the guaranteed death of pharmacies that are fragile”while “Large pharmacies will be able to resist initially by dismissing staff”said Patrick Raymond, president of the USPO of Bouches-du-Rhône, to the France-Presse agency (AFP). “We destroy the network in favor of a gift made to the pharmaceutical industry”he denounces. “The credits will sell medicines on the markets that pay better; This is what will happen ”.
This day of closure placed between a holiday and a Sunday is not unanimous, however: the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF), the first majority union, was not associated with this call, believing that many pharmacies had in any case planned to close on this date. On the other hand, the intersyndicale (USPO, FSPF, UNPF, FEDERGY, UDGPO), which seeks to reach public opinion to its cause, provides for a closure of pharmacies on September 18, then “Every Saturday from September 27”.