Drug shortages homepage

Welcome to Drug Shortages Canada, the website for mandatory reporting of drug shortages and discontinuations by market authorization holders. Anyone can search the database of shortage and discontinuation reports. More information can be found on the About & Resources Page.

Early reporting of shortages and discontinuations provides Health Canada, provincial/territorial governments, drug supply chain stakeholders, and health professionals details needed to help them monitor and manage supply. Shortages can be caused by many factors. Some last longer and are more complex than others. Because companies have to report every time they cannot fully meet demand, not all of the reports on this site are cause for concern at the patient level. Most are successfully managed before they impact patients.

The shortage database has a flag that indicates ones that are Tier 3 drug shortages, which are those that could potentially have the highest impact on Canada's drug supply and health care system. A Tier 3 designation is decided by the Tier Assignment Committee (TAC), composed of federal and provincial/territorial governments, healthcare professionals, and industry stakeholders.

Ensuring people can get the medicines they need is a top priority for Health Canada. Health Canada works closely with many partners to prevent shortages, mitigate their impacts, and help resolve them when they occur.

If you would like to know more about shortages like why they happen, how long they last, the actions being taken to reduce impacts on Canadians, and actions you can take if a drug you use is in shortage, please consult the information on Canada.ca.

Below are the newest shortage and discontinuation reports and updates to existing ones.

Drug pills

LEGEND

!!T3 denotes an actual Tier 3 shortage/discontinuation

!T3 denotes an anticipated Tier 3 shortage/discontinuation

Shortage Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
DEXEDRINE SPANSULE SRC 15MG PALADIN LABS INC. Resolved 15MG Updated Report 2024-03-28 220374
DEXEDRINE SPANSULE SRC 10MG PALADIN LABS INC. Resolved 10MG Updated Report 2024-03-28 222987
HUMALOG ELI LILLY CANADA INC Anticipated shortage 100UNIT Updated Report 2024-03-28 223890
PROQUAD MERCK CANADA INC Anticipated shortage 3.99Log10 PFU 3.00Log10 TCID50 4.30Log10 TCID50 3.00Log10 TCID50 Updated Report 2024-03-28 221447
!!T3 NITROLINGUAL PUMPSPRAY SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC Actual shortage 0.4MG Updated Report 2024-03-28 186615
FENTANYL INJECTION BP STERIMAX INC Anticipated shortage 250MCG Updated Report 2024-03-28 221598
RETIN-A BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Actual shortage 0.05% Updated Report 2024-03-28 222127
RETIN-A BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Actual shortage 0.025% Updated Report 2024-03-28 220170
UROMITEXAN BAXTER CORPORATION Actual shortage 100MG Updated Report 2024-03-28 221775
UROMITEXAN BAXTER CORPORATION Actual shortage 100MG Updated Report 2024-03-28 221778

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
FLAGYL SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC To be discontinued 10% New Report 2024-03-28 223877
ISENTRESS MERCK CANADA INC To be discontinued 100MG Updated Report 2024-03-27 204160
REPATHA AMGEN CANADA INC To be discontinued 120MG New Report 2024-03-26 223420
PHENYLEPHRINE HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION USP STERIMAX INC To be discontinued 10MG New Report 2024-03-22 223145
PHENYLEPHRINE HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION USP STERIMAX INC To be discontinued 10MG New Report 2024-03-22 223140