Leclerc’s OTC campaign sparks controversy in France

Leclerc, a chain of super- and hypermarkets, contended that self-medication products can be sold at a 25% lower price if the pharmacy monopoly on non-reimbursed, non-prescription medicines sales can be curtailed. Leclerc also said that the availability of self-medication products in supermarkets will help French consumers gain access to cheaper self-medication products.

According to Leclerc, the prices of medicines cut from the reimbursement list in 2006 have increased by around 36%. Although the super market chain supports the French government’s proposal to sell self-medication products from open shelves in front of the pharmacy counter to allow competitive pricing, Leclerc contests the pharmacists’s monopoly over dispensing both prescription and non-prescription drugs.

But Leem, the French pharmaceutical industry association, strongly criticized Leclerc’s camapaign and said that although retail prices increased by 25% for products that lost reimbursement status during 2000 to 2007, the ex-manufacturer prices rose only by 5% during that period. The association also plans to launch its own counter-campaign against Leclerc’s proposals.