Quetiapine, a drug commonly used for several psychiatric disorders, will become even more difficult to find in the coming weeks, the drug agency warned Tuesday.
The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) announced in a press release "a deterioration in the availability of these treatments until mid-September 2025", referring more specifically to the 300 mg and 400 mg dosages of quetiapine.
This drug, used in particular to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, has already been experiencing supply difficulties for months following production difficulties at one of its main manufacturers, the Greek laboratory Pharmathen.
Until now, these tensions, even if they caused difficulties for many patients, had been limited thanks to the production of quetiapine by the American company Viatris. However, this company is now experiencing difficulties.
"The ANSM has been informed of a delay in the production of quetiapine 300 mg LP and 400 mg LP medicines by the Viatris laboratory," the agency reports, citing "a delay in the packaging of the finished product."
The problem does not concern a lighter dosage of quetiapine, 50 mg, specifies the ANSM, which nevertheless warns caregivers against the temptation to prescribe it as a replacement for heavier dosages.
The risk, the agency warns, would indeed be to penalize in turn patients who are normally prescribed this lighter dosage.
"We are seeking alternative supply solutions with all laboratories marketing quetiapine in France and Europe," she reports. "We have asked laboratories that can do so to release all of their stocks immediately," she adds.
The problems with quetiapine are part of a broader shortage of several psychiatric drugs, a situation that is worrying many medical specialists.
In its latest assessment of the situation, in mid-July, the ANSM reported that these difficulties persisted in general, despite improvements in certain treatments such as the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft).
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