Medicine shortages and availability issues

Improving the availability of medicines authorised in the European Union (EU) is a key priority for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European medicines regulatory network. Shortages or other problems with the availability of medicines create challenges for the medicine supply chain, potentially seriously impacting human and animal health. 

This content applies to human and veterinary medicines.

Medicine shortages can have an impact on patient care.

They can occur for many reasons, such as manufacturing difficulties, problems affecting the quality of medicines or increased demand.

Regulatory authorities in and outside Europe are increasingly working together to prevent medicine shortages and to limit their impact whenever they occur.

For more information on EMA's role in the post-authorisation stage of a medicine's product lifecycle, see:

• Post-authorisation

#ItTakesATeam campaign: Working together to fight medicine shortages

The campaign showcases how different actors work together to help patients during medicine shortages

Learn about the campaign

in this section

Public information on medicine shortages

EMA's shortages catalogue with information on ongoing and resolved shortages assessed by EMA and links to national registers of shortages

European Shortages Monitoring Platform

EMA's European Shortages Monitoring Platform gathers information about medicine supply and demand in order to prevent, detect and manage human medicine shortages

Availability of medicines before and during crises

EMA's role in coordinating the EU response to supply issues of human medicines caused by crises such as major events or public health emergencies

Medicine shortage communications

A marketing authorisation holder may send a medicine shortage communication to healthcare professionals to inform them of a medicine shortage that does not refer to a quality, safety or efficacy issue.

Guidance for companies

Guidance for marketing authorisation holders, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers on maintaining a continuous supply of their medicines

Guidance for regulators

Guidance on communicating to the public about shortage-related issues and managing shortages caused by manufacturing or quality problems

Guidance for patients and healthcare professionals

Measures that patients’ and healthcare professionals’ organisations can take to help prevent and manage shortages of human medicines in the EU

HMA / EMA Task Force on the Availability of Authorised Medicines for Human and Veterinary Use (2016-2024)

The task force concluded its work in December 2024

#ItTakesATeam campaign

EMA partnered with healthcare professionals and consumers to show different actors can help in case of a shortage

EU action to keep medicines available

The European medicines regulatory network works to minimise the impact of medicine shortages on patients by:

• working with pharmaceutical companies to discuss their contingencies and resolve manufacturing and distribution issues;
• sharing information with international partners about alternative sources of supply;
• seeking input from patients and healthcare professionals on the impact of medicine shortages, to support decision-making;
• taking measures to allow alternative medicines or suppliers to be used.

For more information, see:

• Quality defects and recalls
• International activities
• Patients and consumers
• Healthcare professionals

Watch the video to learn more about how medicine shortages impact patient care. The video highlights how EMA collaborates within the European medicines regulatory network to manage and prevent medicine shortages.

Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG)

EMA's MSSG coordinates urgent action across the EU to manage medicine supply issues and those related to medicine quality, safety and efficacy. This ensures a robust response during major events or public-health emergencies

Find about of the MSSG