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
ROPIVACAINE HYDROCHLORIDE INJECTION, USP FRESENIUS KABI CANADA LTD Resolved 2MG Updated Report 2025-02-08 243515
RIVASTIGMINE PRO DOC LIMITEE Actual shortage 3MG Updated Report 2025-02-08 244190
NORDITROPIN FLEXPRO NOVO NORDISK CANADA INC Actual shortage 5MG Updated Report 2025-02-08 248767
FENTANYL INJECTION BP STERIMAX INC Resolved 2500MCG Updated Report 2025-02-08 249443
BICILLIN L-A PFIZER CANADA ULC Resolved 1200000UNIT Updated Report 2025-02-08 248704
ACH-APIXABAN ACCORD HEALTHCARE INC Actual shortage 2.5MG Updated Report 2025-02-08 249777
3TC VIIV HEALTHCARE ULC Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2025-02-07 245633
IMITREX GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Actual shortage 5MG New Report 2025-02-07 249842
FLOVENT DISKUS GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Anticipated shortage 500MCG New Report 2025-02-07 249839
!!T3 VENTOLIN HFA GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Actual shortage 100MCG Updated Report 2025-02-07 244223

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
KIVEXA VIIV HEALTHCARE ULC To be discontinued 300MG 600MG Updated Report 2025-02-07 238375
CASODEX ASTRAZENECA CANADA INC Discontinued 50MG Updated Report 2025-02-07 231878
SKYRIZI ABBVIE CORPORATION Discontinued 75MG Updated Report 2025-02-06 248607
NUTROPIN AQ NUSPIN 5 HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE LIMITED Discontinued 5MG Updated Report 2025-02-01 232071
NUTROPIN AQ NUSPIN 10 HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE LIMITED Discontinued 10MG Updated Report 2025-02-01 232079