Some of France's most used medicines set for longer shelf life
The five-year scheme aims to cut waste and ease shortages
France's medicines safety agency has launched a pilot scheme that could see dozens of widely used drugs - including household names such as Dafalgan and Efferalgan - kept for twice as long as is currently permitted, in a bid to cut waste, ease shortages and reduce the environmental impact of the pharmaceutical industry.
The Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament (ANSM) announced on August 26 that 14 pharmaceutical laboratories have agreed to take part in the scheme, called Longue vie aux médicaments (Long life to medicines), which will run over the next five years.
What is changing
Most medicines authorised for sale in France currently have a shelf life of between two and three years, with fewer than 10% lasting as long as five years. Under the new project, laboratories will carry out fresh feasibility studies with the aim of extending these periods, in some cases doubling them.
In total, 73 medicines are involved, including well-known treatments containing paracetamol, levothyroxine, melatonin and lithium. The ANSM says 47 of these should reach a shelf life of four years or more once the studies are complete.
Crucially, neither the composition nor the packaging of the medicines will change. Laboratories will simply be testing the same products under real-world conditions for longer, to gather the scientific evidence needed to support an extended shelf life.
Readers who rely on medication from another country may also want to know the rules around bringing in supplies from abroad. The Connexion has previously addressed the question of whether medicine can be shipped to France from overseas.
How the testing works
Valérie Salomon, the ANSM's director of scientific affairs, said that laboratories will store their medicines in controlled chambers with constant temperature and humidity, then monitor them closely over time.
"They will look at whether the quantity of active ingredient stays the same throughout, whether any degradation products appear, and at all the physical and chemical characteristics of their medicine," Ms Salomon said to Franceinfo.
Laboratories will then submit data to the ANSM demonstrating that their products remain safe and effective for up to four or five years.
Why it matters
The initiative forms part of France's wider strategy to green its healthcare system, which is responsible for more than 8% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions - equivalent to almost 50 million tonnes of CO2 - with medicines and medical devices accounting for 55% of that figure.
The ANSM said thousands of tonnes of unused medicines and other health products are destroyed every year. Extending shelf lives is expected to bring several benefits:
Less waste, by avoiding the unnecessary destruction of stock that remains perfectly safe to use
Fewer shortages, thanks to improved availability of treatments in hospitals and pharmacies
A smaller environmental footprint, with reduced chemical waste and lower CO2 emissions linked to production and disposal
The project was launched in November 2025 around the time of the COP30 climate summit, and builds on a set of commitments signed in December 2023 by the ANSM and other French health institutions to reduce the sector's emissions and waste.
For now, the ANSM is reminding consumers that storage conditions listed on medicine packaging must continue to be respected. The full list of medicines involved in the pilot scheme is available to download on the ANSM website.
