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
SODIUM BICARBONATE INJECTION USP PFIZER CANADA ULC Actual shortage 84MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 200801
DEFEROXAMINE MESYLATE FOR INJECTION PFIZER CANADA ULC Anticipated shortage 500MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 231893
HYDROMORPHONE HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION USP PFIZER CANADA ULC Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 225629
DEFEROXAMINE MESYLATE FOR INJECTION PFIZER CANADA ULC Anticipated shortage 2G Updated Report 2024-10-09 234768
LIDOCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION USP PFIZER CANADA ULC Resolved 20MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 213834
CALCIUM CHLORIDE INJECTION USP PFIZER CANADA ULC Resolved 100MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 154805
ATORVASTATIN SANIS HEALTH INC Actual shortage 20MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 234186
ATORVASTATIN SANIS HEALTH INC Anticipated shortage 40MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 236988
ATORVASTATIN SANIS HEALTH INC Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2024-10-09 236985
LANCORA SERVIER CANADA INC Actual shortage 5MG New Report 2024-10-09 239700

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
FUZEON HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE LIMITED To be discontinued 108MG New Report 2024-10-07 239548
NYADERM TAROPHARMA, A DIVISION OF TARO PHARMACEUTICALS INC. Discontinued 25000UNIT Updated Report 2024-10-05 239427
RENVELA SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC To be discontinued 2.4G New Report 2024-10-04 239436
RENVELA SANOFI-AVENTIS CANADA INC To be discontinued 0.8G New Report 2024-10-04 239433
SODIUM BICARBONATE INJECTION, USP FRESENIUS KABI CANADA LTD Discontinued 42MG New Report 2024-10-03 239180