217 drugs moved to OTC status in France

A total of 217 non-prescription drugs are to be made available on an over-the-counter basis via French pharmacies, according to a decree published in the Journal Officiel, the government register. The medicines are mainly analgesics and cough or cold products and include Laboratoires Urgo's Humex (carbinoxamine) throat syrup, UK-based Reckitt Benckiser's anti-inflammatory Nurofen (ibuprofen) and UK-headquartered drug major GlaxoSmithKline's Nicorette brand of smoking-cessation patches.

Until this move, announced by Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot, only parapharmacy products have been available OTC in the estimated 23,000 pharmacies across France, with non-prescription drugs only dispensed under the supervision of a qualified pharmacist.

Mrs Bachelot made clear that this is only the first of what are likely to be several waves of status transfers for drugs. According to La Tribune, the Health Minister recently said that, "in total 3,000 products are potentially eligible" for a switch to OTC sales. Although it has taken two years to get the first 217 initial items to this stage, the government is reported to have agreed in principle to move quicker for other areas. The main problem is over pricing.