No more brand-name drugs!

From January 2020, doctors in France will no longer be able to systematically refuse to prescribe generic drugs. Whereas, before, they could impose the "non-substitutable" label on any product, this will only be possible in certain cases.

According to France’s healthcare insurance sector, prescriptions of generic drugs instead of brand-name medication have led to savings of 7 billion euros in just the last 5 years. It comes as no surprise, then, that the government are looking to increase generic prescriptions, supporting their decision with the findings of several reports that have condemned "excessive and unjustified use of the ‘non-substitutable’ label".

In the future, only three specific cases will be allowed the label enforcing prescription of an original drug: prescriptions in children under 6, prescriptions for people contra-indicated for a specific excipient, and prescriptions of drugs with very small treatment margins, such as antiepileptic or antirejection medication.

The French Union Federation of Medical Professionals (CSMF) have criticised this act as an attack on the foundations of patient-doctor confidentiality, as it will mean that doctors have to explain to pharmacists why a certain drug cannot be prescribed.

We’ll keep you updated, of course, on how the situation unfolds.