France's pharmacists concern over drug costs

The French Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions (FSPF) has denounced price increases, announced on January 1, of drugs that were removed last year from the Social Security formulary. Among the affected drugs are Servier's Daflon (diosmin) and Sanofi-Aventis' Endotelon (procyanidolic oligomers) both for the treatment of venous insufficiency.

The pharmacists' association noted that Daflon increased 33%, with the price of Germany-based Bayer's Hirucreme (Hirudo medicinalis extract) rising 88%.

According to the Parisian daily Le Monde, the small pharmacist group, which might have been expected to exploit its revenue bonus from a fixed share of higher retail prices, argues that the scale of increases "will work against us."