The anti-epileptic drug has been flagged for several years due to the high risk of birth defects but also for increased risks of mental retardation and autism.
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‘The warning of risks will be printed on the box of valproate, an anti-epileptic drug that has been reported to cause birth defects.
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The estimate for all of France was extrapolated from data obtained in the Rhone-Alpes region, it said. 
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Starting on March 1, the warning for pregnant women -- which is already in the notice that comes with valproate -- will also be written on the box, the country's general director of health, Benoit Vallet, said.
The anti-convulsion drug has been flagged for several years due to the high risk of birth defects -- around 10 percent -- but also for increased risks of mental retardation and autism.
A European report in 2014 urged all countries on the continent to review their conditions for prescribing valproate "to minimize risks".
It also called on them to take steps to ensure the medication is not prescribed to women of child-bearing age -- 15 to 49 years -- or pregnant women, unless no alternative treatment for epilepsy was effective.
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Valproate has been marketed in France by pharmaceutical company Sanofi under the brand name Depakine since 1967.
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Source-AFP