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
VENLAFAXINE XR SANIS HEALTH INC Resolved 37.5MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 234210
VENLAFAXINE XR SANIS HEALTH INC Resolved 37.5MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 236991
VENTOLIN DISKUS GLAXOSMITHKLINE INC Actual shortage 200MCG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249342
SANDOZ PRAMIPEXOLE SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 0.5MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249992
SANDOZ TRANDOLAPRIL SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 2MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249999
SANDOZ ALFACALCIDOL SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Resolved 0.25MCG Updated Report 2025-02-11 248121
SANDOZ ALFACALCIDOL SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Resolved 1MCG Updated Report 2025-02-11 248199
SANDOZ ATORVASTATIN SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 20MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249965
SANDOZ CANDESARTAN SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 16MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249971
SANDOZ CAPECITABINE SANDOZ CANADA INCORPORATED Actual shortage 500MG Updated Report 2025-02-11 249974

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
TROSEC SUNOVION PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC To be discontinued 20MG Updated Report 2025-02-10 250062
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