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
ZAMINE 21 APOTEX INC Resolved 0.03MG 3MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 218391
PNEUMOVAX 23 MERCK CANADA INC Resolved 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG Updated Report 2024-03-29 219866
PNEUMOVAX 23 MERCK CANADA INC Resolved 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG 25MCG Updated Report 2024-03-29 219869
UROMITEXAN BAXTER CORPORATION Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 221775
UROMITEXAN BAXTER CORPORATION Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 221778
TEVA-TADALAFIL TEVA CANADA LIMITED Actual shortage 5MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 223859
NITROLINGUAL PUMPSPRAY SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC Resolved 0.4MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 186615
APO-TICAGRELOR APOTEX INC Resolved 90MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 216675
APO-PRUCALOPRIDE APOTEX INC Resolved 1MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 219834
DEFEROXAMINE MESYLATE FOR INJECTION PFIZER CANADA ULC Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2024-03-29 223131

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