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
SANDOZ DEFERASIROX SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 193710
SANDOZ DAPAGLIFLOZIN SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 202538
SANDOZ DAPAGLIFLOZIN SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 203653
SANDOZ SITAGLIPTIN-METFORMIN SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 500MG 50MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 203193
SANDOZ METFORMIN FC SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 204121
CLINDAMYCIN IV INFUSION SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 18MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 182829
!!T3 POTASSIUM CHLORIDE FOR INJECTION CONCENTRATE OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Actual shortage 20mEq Updated Report 2023-09-25 201621
FAMOTIDINE OMEGA -(WITH PRESERVATIVE,BENZYL ALCOHOL) OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 202613
POTASSIUM ACETATE INJECTION USP OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Anticipated shortage 39.2% Updated Report 2023-09-25 204135
GRANISETRON HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Anticipated shortage 1MG Updated Report 2023-09-25 204668

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
PMS-CIPROFLOXACIN PHARMASCIENCE INC Discontinued 250MG New Report 2023-09-20 204854
PMS-CIPROFLOXACIN PHARMASCIENCE INC Discontinued 750MG New Report 2023-09-20 204849
LIORESAL INTRATHECAL 2MG/ML NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC Discontinued 2MG Updated Report 2023-09-19 201573
LIORESAL INTRATHECAL 0.05MG/ML NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC Discontinued 0.05MG Updated Report 2023-09-19 201576
LIORESAL INTRATHECAL 0.5MG/ML NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC Discontinued 0.5MG Updated Report 2023-09-19 202298