The medical and pharmaceutical news for this start of 2026 focuses on three regulatory and health fronts that directly modify the daily practice of healthcare professionals: the targeted withdrawal of fraudulent weight loss products, the expansion of the ANSM’s vigilance scope to medical devices, and the management of shortages of major therapeutic interest medications. We analyze these developments from an operational perspective.
Expanded Material Vigilance: What Changes with the ANSM’s Handling of DM Alerts
Since January 2025, the ANSM has included the handling of alerts on medical devices within its scope. This extension, which generated 326 alerts processed in 2025, redefines the reporting chain for hospitals and pharmacies dispensing certain DMs.
In practical terms, material vigilance no longer relies solely on manufacturers and local correspondents. The agency now centralizes feedback, which accelerates recall procedures and corrective measures on resuscitation equipment, implantable devices, and in vitro diagnostic materials.
For hospital pharmacists, this means an additional watch on ANSM publications. Health police decisions regarding DMs follow the same formalism as those related to medications. Professionals who keep up with pharmaceutical news via Doctinews or the agency’s official bulletins must integrate this flow into their documentation routine.
We recommend that material vigilance managers set up specific alerts on the ANSM portal, filtering by device category. The current volume (over 300 alerts per year) makes manual sorting impractical without a dedicated monitoring tool.
Fraudulent Weight Loss Products: Bans and Recalls in Series
The ANSM has issued several health police decisions targeting products marketed as treatments for obesity or diabetes, sold online without marketing authorization. These decisions prohibit the marketing, distribution, importation, exportation, and advertising of these products, and mandate their recall across the entire territory.
This is not a marginal phenomenon. The online channel remains the main vector for the distribution of these unauthorized specialties, often presented under names similar to existing medications (GLP-1 analogs, unapproved semaglutide derivatives).
Impact on Pharmacy Advice
Community pharmacists are on the front lines facing patients who procure these products. The dispensing framework is clear: none of these products can be sold online, even by a pharmacy authorized for internet sales, as they fall under the list of medications excluded from e-commerce.
The course of action is based on three axes:
- Systematically verify the origin of weight loss products presented by patients by consulting the ANSM’s decision database
- Report any possession of products subject to a ban decision via the agency’s reporting portal
- Guide patients towards a structured medical management of obesity, reminding them that authorized GLP-1 analogs are only dispensed on prescription
Medication Shortages: Review of the Winter Campaign 2025-2026
Reports of stock shortages or risks of shortages of major therapeutic interest medications remain at a high level, with nearly 3,887 reports in 2025 (compared to 3,825 in 2024). The underlying trend is not reversing.
Notably: no major tensions were observed during the winter of 2025-2026 on seasonal medications (oral antibiotics, pediatric antipyretics, inhaled corticosteroids). The stocks built up by laboratories and wholesalers were sufficient to meet demand.
Weekly Monitoring of Availability in the Community and Hospital
VIDAL publishes a weekly availability report covering specialties under tension. These bulletins (weeks 32 to 37 for the recent period) detail the affected molecules, identified therapeutic alternatives, and expected dates for restocking.
For hospital pharmacists, a specific follow-up of hospital specialties complements this system. Current tensions focus on targeted molecules, without a generalized shortage phenomenon comparable to those observed in previous winters. Some hospital specialties remain under tension, with quotas per establishment.
VRS Pharmacovigilance: Persistent Dispensing Errors
The ANSM has published the pharmacovigilance report for the 2025-2026 campaign for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infections.
In vaccinated pregnant women with Abrysvo, reported premature births have no established link to vaccination.
The point of vigilance concerns medication errors. The majority of reported cases correspond to confusions between specialties (Beyfortus versus Abrysvo), with no associated adverse effects in most situations. These confusions mainly occur at the time of dispensing or administration.
We observe that this type of error persists despite repeated alerts. The coexistence of two preventive strategies (maternal vaccination and passive immunization of the infant) creates a structural risk of confusion at the counter and in maternity. Implementing double-checking protocols remains the most effective measure to reduce these incidents.
The medical and pharmaceutical news at the end of 2026 confirms an underlying trend: the scope of responsibility for pharmacists is expanding towards material vigilance and the fight against fraudulent online products, while managing shortages remains a continuous monitoring exercise. The weekly monitoring tools and decisions published by the ANSM constitute the minimal documentary foundation for up-to-date practice.
