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
XYLOCAINE 1% ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Actual shortage 10MG Updated Report 2024-03-18 221714
SENSORCAINE ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Actual shortage 2.5MG Updated Report 2024-03-18 203911
DIPRIVAN 1% ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 10MG New Report 2024-03-18 222698
DIPRIVAN 1% ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 10MG New Report 2024-03-18 222695
XYLOCARD ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 100MG New Report 2024-03-18 222692
SENSORCAINE ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 2.5MG New Report 2024-03-18 222689
SENSORCAINE ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 5MG New Report 2024-03-18 222686
VAQTA MERCK CANADA INC Actual shortage 50UNIT Updated Report 2024-03-18 217125
XYLOCAINE 1% ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 10MG New Report 2024-03-18 222681
SENSORCAINE WITH EPINEPHRINE ASPEN PHARMACARE CANADA INC. Anticipated shortage 2.5MG 5MCG New Report 2024-03-18 222678

Discontinuation Reports

Brand name Company Name Status Strength Update Date Updated View Report
TRISPAN MEDEXUS PHARMACEUTICALS INC. Discontinued 20MG New Report 2024-03-18 222652
STRATTERA ELI LILLY CANADA INC To be discontinued 80MG Updated Report 2024-03-15 171495
AVAXIM - PEDIATRIC SANOFI PASTEUR LIMITED Discontinued 80UNIT New Report 2024-03-14 222215
DELATESTRYL BAUSCH HEALTH, CANADA INC. To be discontinued 200MG New Report 2024-03-11 221772
GLUCAGEN HYPOKIT NOVO NORDISK CANADA INC Discontinued 1MG Updated Report 2024-03-06 198052