Medicine shortage communications (MSC)

Marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) may send medicine shortage communications (MSCs) to healthcare professionals to inform them of certain medicine shortages. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) publishes medicine shortages communications on this website.

On this website you can find two types of communications to healthcare professionals that include information on medicine shortages:

• Medicine shortage communications (MSCs)
• Direct healthcare professional communications (DHPCs)

MSCs are published for shortages linked to:

• withdrawal of a marketing authorisation for commercial decisions; 
• capacity disruptions in manufacturing or supply;
• unexpected demand increase for a certain medicine.  

They are used instead of DHPCs when a shortage is not linked to a quality, safety or efficacy issue.

EMA continues to communicate through direct healthcare professional communications if a medicine shortage is related to a quality, safety or efficacy issue.

For more information, see:

• Medicine shortages and availability issues
• Direct healthcare professional communications

Medicine shortage communication template

EMA is piloting a medicine shortage communication template until March 2025. The template will come into effect after that date.

EMA's Medicine Shortages Steering Group (MSSG) introduced the template in October 2024.

It is available below:

Medicine shortage communication (MSC) template

Medicine shortage communications published by EMA

Medicine shortage communication (MSC): Mimpara (cinacalcet)

Medicine shortage communication (MSC): Fiasp PumpCart and NovoRapid PumpCart