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
PMS-IRBESARTAN PHARMASCIENCE INC Actual shortage 75MG New Report 2024-12-04 244825
PMS-IPRATROPIUM PHARMASCIENCE INC Actual shortage 250MCG New Report 2024-12-04 244822
ASAPHEN PHARMASCIENCE INC Actual shortage 80MG New Report 2024-12-04 244817
OXY.IR PURDUE PHARMA Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 243809
DEXAMETHASONE-OMEGA OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Actual shortage 4MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 237157
DEXAMETHASONE-OMEGA OMEGA LABORATORIES LIMITED Actual shortage 4MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 240175
OMNISCAN GE HEALTHCARE CANADA INC Actual shortage 287MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 243409
AZITHROMYCIN FOR INJECTION USP STERIMAX INC Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 243597
DIPROSONE ORGANON CANADA INC. Actual shortage 0.05% Updated Report 2024-12-04 235627
APO-GABAPENTIN APOTEX INC Actual shortage 800MG Updated Report 2024-12-04 243620

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
HUMALOG ELI LILLY CANADA INC To be discontinued 100UNIT Updated Report 2024-12-04 224347
LAMISIL NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC To be discontinued 250MG Updated Report 2024-11-28 244096
FLAREX NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC Discontinued 0.1% Updated Report 2024-11-28 235987
ERFA-AMIKACIN SEARCHLIGHT PHARMA INC Discontinued 250MG New Report 2024-11-27 243998
MICAFUNGIN SODIUM FOR INJECTION JUNO PHARMACEUTICALS CORP. Discontinued 100MG Updated Report 2024-11-26 243753