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
SAG-M HAEMONETICS CORPORATION Resolved 0.525% 0.9% 0.0169% 0.877% Updated Report 2024-11-20 243503
SENSORCAINE WITH EPINEPHRINE ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Actual shortage 5MCG 2.5MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 237703
COLESTID TABLETS PFIZER CANADA ULC Actual shortage 1G Updated Report 2024-11-20 233212
BIPAZEN KVR PHARMACEUTICALS INC. Actual shortage 4MCG Updated Report 2024-11-20 232584
LEVOTHYROXINE SODIUM INJECTION FRESENIUS KABI CANADA LTD Resolved 100MCG Updated Report 2024-11-20 239468
MORPHINE SULFATE INJECTION, USP FRESENIUS KABI CANADA LTD Anticipated shortage 2MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 243494
CALCIJECT INJ 100MG/ML OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 200770
CALCIJECT INJ 100MG/ML OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 201624
CALCIUM CHLORIDE INJECTION USP PFIZER CANADA ULC Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 154805
TAMSULOSIN CR SANIS HEALTH INC Actual shortage 0.4MG Updated Report 2024-11-20 230839

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
FLAGYL SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC Discontinued 10% Updated Report 2024-11-20 223877
HUMALOG ELI LILLY CANADA INC To be discontinued 100UNIT Updated Report 2024-11-14 224347
INVOKAMET JANSSEN INC Discontinued 500MG 150MG Updated Report 2024-11-13 230850
PEDIACEL SANOFI PASTEUR LIMITED Discontinued 5MCG 20MCG 30MCG 10MCG 32UNIT 8UNIT 40UNIT 5LF 15LF 20MCG 3MCG Updated Report 2024-11-11 206912
AUBAGIO SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC Discontinued 14MG Updated Report 2024-11-09 226847