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
CREON MINIMICROSPHERES 25 BGP PHARMA ULC Resolved 1600UNIT 25500UNIT 25000UNIT Updated Report 2023-11-29 205876
XYLOCAINE 2% ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 20MG Updated Report 2023-11-29 209396
CANCIDAS MERCK CANADA INC Actual shortage 70MG Updated Report 2023-11-29 207815
SABRIL LUNDBECK PHARMACEUTICALS LLC Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2023-11-29 189885
SABRIL LUNDBECK PHARMACEUTICALS LLC Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2023-11-29 178697
VENTOLIN HFA GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Actual shortage 100MCG Updated Report 2023-11-29 208287
AIROMIR BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Resolved 100MCG Updated Report 2023-11-29 211577
BIACNA TOPICAL GEL BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Actual shortage 0.025% 1.2% Updated Report 2023-11-29 211253
BENZACLIN BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Actual shortage 5% 1% Updated Report 2023-11-29 207376
CUPRIMINE BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 250MG Updated Report 2023-11-29 206596

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
STIEVA-A GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Discontinued 0.025% Updated Report 2023-11-29 200920
AIROMIR BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. Discontinued 100MCG New Report 2023-11-29 211859
SANDOZ COLCHICINE SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Discontinued 0.6MG Updated Report 2023-11-28 211608
CEFAZOLIN FOR INJECTION TEVA CANADA LIMITED Discontinued 10G New Report 2023-11-27 211558
AURO-OLANZAPINE ODT AURO PHARMA INC Discontinued 5MG Updated Report 2023-11-22 210978